ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (15-4) plays their last nonconference games this weekend in the Teri Mathis-Zenner MIAA/NSIC Crossover Tournament. The Golden Bears start action against Missouri Southern State (19-6) on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex in Joplin, Missouri. 

Concordia-St. Paul will then play a pair of doubleheaders starting against Nebraska Kearney (10-11) on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. in Joplin, Missouri. CSP's toughest test of the weekend is against No. 13 Pittsburg State (24-2) in Pittsburg, Kansas. First pitch for those contests is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. 

LAST TIME OUT 

CSP competed in THE Spring Games in Florida going 10-2 overall in the tournament for the team's best record since 2012. The Golden Bears hit a combined .372 batting average while holding opponents to a .281 batting average. Concordia's pitchers also had an average ERA of 3.04 while their opponents had an average ERA of 6.00. All of CSP's starting nine batters hit .300 or higher over the 12 games. 

The Golden Bears were led by freshman Alexis Monty with a .558 batting average over the 12 games. She compiled a team-high 24 hits with four doubles and a home run. She batted in 12 RBIs and tallied 31 total bases. The freshman won this past week's NSIC Player of the Week award for her performance in the last eight games in Florida.

Senior Annalise Scamehorn hit a .424 batting average this past week with 14 hits, four doubles and 11 RBIs. Sophomore Riley Rosenthal hit a .410 batting average with one double, three triples and 10 RBIs. Rosenthal won the week five NSIC Player of the Week award after she hit .462 in the first four games in Florida with three triples. 

Junior Danni Sharum had four doubles and eight RBIs with a .375 batting average. Junior Rachel Novak hit her first career home run to give the Golden Bears a 9-8 walk-off victory against Montana-State Billings in eight innings. 

Junior Erica McCullough led the Golden Bears in pitching with a 2.27 ERA. The lefty went 6-0 on the week and tallied 25 strikeouts. She allowed 37 hits in 37 innings pitched and only gave up 12 earned runs. Her highlight of the week was a shutout in a 2-0 victory over Glenville State.

Freshman Emmy Bowne tallied a 3.77 ERA with a 4-2 record. She pitched 29 innings and with 13 strikeouts while giving up 12 earned runs. The freshman threw a no-hitter in CSP's 9-0 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan. It was the first no-hitter for the Golden Bears since 2014. 

SEASON LEADERS

Monty leads the Golden Bears in hitting with a .536 batting average which is second in the NSIC. Scamehorn is hitting .415 to have the seventh-best batting average in the conference. Senior Clara Heislen is hitting .397 for the 13th-best batting average in the NSIC.

Monty is hitting a .681 slugging average which is eighth in the NSIC. Her .568 on-base percentage is tied for second in the conference. Sharum has the second-best slugging percentage on the team at .580. Heislen's .485 on-base percentage is seventh in the NSIC.

Bowne and McCullough have both posted a 3.36 ERA this season. McCullough has a 9-1 record this season which ties her win total from the 2023 campaign. The junior is tied for the second most wins in the NSIC. She is 10th in the NSIC in strikeouts with a total of 34. 

Bowne has a 6-3 record this season for the sixth most wins in the NSIC. She's thrown 29 strikeouts and given up an opposing batting average of .273. Her opposing batting average is 16th in the conference. 

The Golden Bears have the second-best batting average in the NSIC hitting .367 as a team. CSP's average ERA of 3.36 is seventh in the conference. 

MISSOURI SOUTHERN STATE - Friday, Feb. 16 at 12:15 p.m.

Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 5, Missouri Southern State 3

The Golden Bears have won the last four matchups against Missouri Southern including sweeping the Lions in two games during the 2022 season. 

Missouri Southern is 19-6 this season with a 3-1 MIAA record. The Lions' lone game against a ranked opponent was against UT Tyler on Feb. 9 where Missouri Southern fell 1-0. Missouri Southern comes into this game after winning eight of its last 10 games. 

Sophomore Taylor Nuckolls has the best batting average for the Lions hitting .426. The junior college transfer has two doubles and four triples this season to post a team-best .611 slugging percentage. She also has 25 RBIs this season. 

Senior Kara Amos is hitting .382 this season with a team-leading three home runs. She has the best on-base percentage for Missouri Southern at .475. She's hit 21 RBIs and has a .603 slugging percentage this season. 

The Lions have four more batters who are averaging a .300 or higher batting average. Missouri Southern is hitting .327 as a team. 

Junior pitcher Avery Tallman leads the Lions with a 1.89 ERA in 29.2 innings pitched. Freshman Kiki Pickens has pitched 62.2 innings for the Lions with a team-high 59 strikeouts. She has a 6-4 record this season. Amos has posted a 3.23 ERA in 26 innings pitched. 

Head coach Hallie Blackney is in her sixth season with the Lions. She has a career record of 146-95-1 entering this weekend. Blackney was named the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2021 and led the Lions to an NCAA Regional appearance last season. 

NEBRASKA KEARNEY - Friday, Feb. 16 at 12:15 p.m.

Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 5, Nebraska Kearney 4

Concordia-St. Paul won the last two matchups against the Lopers in 2019 by one run each. The two teams met for the first time in 2009. 

UNK has an 11-10 overall record this season with a 1-3 MIAA record. The Lopers are 5-6 this season in neutral-site games. The Lopers have lost six of their last eight games, but picked up an 8-2 victory over NSIC-foe Minnesota Duluth on March 3. UNK is playing a four-game midweek home series against UMary on March 13-14. 

Sophomore Mary Chvatal leads the Lopers hitting a .373 batting average. She's hit two doubles, one triple and one home run with 11 RBIs. UNK has a pair of Northeastern (Colo.) junior college transfers performing well. Junior Rylyn Nelson is hitting .327 with five doubles and a team-high 15 RBIs along with junior Eden McNally hitting .310 with two doubles and five RBIs. 

Sophomore Madeline Janssen leads the Lopers in pitching with a 2.66 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched. She's thrown 18 strikeouts and has a 4-4 record with two saves. Freshman Daniella Morillas has a 2.87 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched with a team-high 45 strikeouts. 

The Lopers are led by head coach Katie Ackermann in her fifth season with the program. She has an 81-110 record with the Lopers before the games against UMary this week. 

PITTSBURG STATE - Friday, Feb. 16 at 12:15 p.m.

Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 3, Pittsburg State 3

CSP first played Pittsburg State in 2007 winning three of the first four matchups. The Golden Bears lost to the Gorillas in 2016 by a 3-2 final and in the most recent matchup in 2017, 6-3.

The Gorillas are 24-2 this season with a 4-0 MIAA record. Pittsburg State has ranked victories over Oklahoma Baptist and Oklahoma Christian this season. Augustana defeated Pittsburg State 6-0 on Feb. 23. Since then, the Gorillas have won 14 straight games. 

Sophomore Heather Arnett leads Pittsburg State with a .567 batting average. She's hit four doubles, seven triples and one home run this season for a .784 slugging percentage. Senior Hannah Burnett is hitting .420 with three home runs and 24 RBIs.  

Junior Courtney Storey is hitting .408 with a team-high nine doubles and 15 RBIs. Alleyna Rushing is hitting .395. Maddie Fernandez is hitting .393 and Paxtyn Hayes is hitting .289 and each of them have a team-high six home runs. 

Freshman pitcher Ava Laurent has a 1.25 ERA for the Gorillas with a 9-0 record. The Grand Island, Nebraska native has pitched 73 innings this season throwing 107 strikeouts. Senior Kiana Pogroszewski has a 7-1 record with a 3.04 ERA. She's thrown 44 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched. 

Head coach Jenny Fuller is in her third season as the head coach of Pittsburg State. She had a 54-47 record coming into this season, which has now been improved to 78-49 after this strong start. Fuller coached at Northern State from 2018-21 posting an 85-80 record with the Wolves.