JOPLIN, Mo. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (16-4) defeated Missouri Southern State (21-8) in eight innings by a score of 5-4. CSP rallied scoring three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. The Golden Bears trailed 4-1 heading into the seventh inning due to five errors. 

Junior Avery Johnson started the CSP run hitting a two-out double in the seventh inning putting herself in scoring position. Rachel Novak hit an RBI single to bring her in, cutting the lead to 4-2. 

Freshman Alexis Monty then hit a double to put runners on second and third. After the Lions brought in lefty reliever Lily Rand, sophomore Riley Rosenthal hit a double to bring Monty and Novak home, tying the game at 4-4. 

Senior Clara Heislen was placed on second to start extra innings. After stealing third base, junior Sydney Pelzer brought Heislen home on an RBI single to right field giving CSP its first lead of the day at 5-4. Senior Annalise Scamehorn singled after that to put runners on first and third, but the Golden Bears were unable to convert. 

The Golden Bears got the last three outs with a flyout, strikeout and a groundout. Freshman Emmy Bowne pitched the last four innings of the game for the Golden Bears, giving up 0 runs. She threw 55 pitches giving up two hits and three strikeouts. 

Missouri Southern opened the scoring in the first inning with two runs where both runners reached first initially on errors. One runner reached home on a groundout and the next runner reached beating the throw on a steal to second to end the inning. 

The Lions added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning via a sacrifice fly and a walk with the bases loaded. Junior Erica McCullough managed to control the damage after that forcing a flyout with the runners on each base to end the inning. 

CSP got on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Monty reached on a walk and got to second on a groundout. Heislen brought her home with an RBI single to left field, cutting the lead to 4-1. 

The Golden Bears were led by Monty with two hits and an RBI. She also scored two runs. Pelzer had the most RBIs on the team with her 2RBI double to tie it. Pelzer had two hits with an RBI. Heislen and Novak each had an RBI. 

McCullough threw 70 pitches giving up five hits and four unearned runs. She also threw two strikeouts. Bowne improved her record to 7-3 with the victory. Rand picked up the loss for the Lions. 

CSP had five errors in the contest compared to one for the Lions. Missouri Southern left 10 runners on base compared to seven for Concordia. The Golden Bears outhit the Lions 9-7. 

The Golden Bears have a quick turnaround as they play Nebraska Kearney (12-11) in a doubleheader on Saturday in Joplin, Missouri once again. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 10 a.m. with game two to follow.