ST. PAUL, Minn. - After finishing up non-conference play this past weekend, the Golden Bear softball team (18-6) plays Minnesota Crookston (7-17) and Bemidji State (6-17) on Sunday, March 24 and Monday, March 25. The games have been moved to the American State Bank Sports Complex in Sioux Center, Iowa due to projected colder weather in the Twin Cities. 

Concordia-St. Paul will face Minnesota Crookston on Sunday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Golden Bears are playing the Beavers on Monday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. These are CSP's first NSIC contests of the season. 

LAST TIME OUT 

Concordia-St. Paul went 3-2 at the Teri Mathis-Zenner MIAA/NSIC Crossover Tournament this past weekend. The Golden Bears started the weekend with an exciting 5-4 extra-inning victory against Missouri Southern State on Friday evening. 

Trailing 4-0 going into the sixth inning, senior Clara Heislen hit an RBI single to left field. In the seventh inning, CSP scored three runs off of a Rachel Novak RBI single and a Riley Rosenthal 2RBI double. Junior infielder Sydney Pelzer hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give CSP it's first and final lead of the game.

On Saturday, the Golden Bears picked up a pair of victories in a doubleheader against the Nebraska Kearney Lopers. Concordia-St. Paul won the first game by a score of 9-6 with freshman Alexis Monty putting up a team-high three hits with three RBIs. Up 6-5 in the fifth inning, Monty hit a 2RBI triple and then scored herself on a Rosenthal double to extend the lead to 9-5. 

The Golden Bears picked up a 10-2 five-inning victory in game two. Concordia-St. Paul scored eight runs on five hits and an error in the fourth inning. Junior pitcher Erica McCullough threw a season-high seven strikeouts in the victory. 

Concordia-St. Paul dropped both games of its doubleheader on Sunday against No. 13 Pittsburg State. After the Gorillas scored six runs in the opening inning, senior Alexus Houston hit a 3RBI home run to cut the lead to 6-4 in the third inning. Pittsburg State scored a run in the fourth and three runs in the sixth to seal the game-one victory.

The second game was much more low-scoring, with the Gorillas scoring the opening run in the third inning. Rosenthal hit an RBI triple and Heislen hit a sacrifice fly to give CSP in 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth. The Gorillas responded with a triple and a sacrifice fly of their own in the bottom of the sixth to get the victory. 

Monty led the Golden Bears over the weekend slashing .588/.632/.824 to earn herself NSIC Player of the Week honors for the second straight week. She had a team-high 20 hits with two doubles and a triple. 

Houston hit the only two home runs for the Golden Bears. Pelzer hit .571 with eight hits and a double. Rosenthal led CSP in RBIs with six total on the weekend hitting .368. McCullough led the pitching efforts for Concordia with a 1.98 ERA in 17.2 innings with 13 strikeouts. 

SEASON LEADERS

Monty leads the team and the NSIC with a .547 batting average. The next closest in the conference is Lexi Chase of Northern State batting .468. Monty currently has the fifth-best batting average in the nation. 

The freshman's slugging percentage of .709 is second in the conference and her .581 on-base percentage leads the conference. She is ninth in the nation in on-base percentage and her 47 hits on the season is seventh in the nation. She has a team-high 23 RBIs which is fourth in the conference. 

Senior Annalise Scamehorn is hitting a .406 batting average, which is seventh in the NSIC. She is fourth in the conference in doubles with 10 on the season. Her .442 on-base percentage is 14th in the conference. 

Rosenthal is hitting .372 this season with a team-high four triples. She has the second-most triples in the NSIC. The sophomore has the second-most RBIs on the team with 22 putting her sixth in the NSIC. 

The Golden Bears lead the NSIC with a .357 batting average as a team. Eight CSP players have a batting average of .300 or higher. CSP also leads the conference in RBIs with 148, 51 doubles, eight triples, a .490 slugging percentage and 43 stolen bases. 

On the pitching side, McCullough leads the Golden Bears with a 3.03 ERA and a 10-2 record this season. This is the most wins that McCullough has had in a season in her career. She has the second-most wins of any pitcher in the NSIC and the 17th-most wins in the nation. The junior lefty has the 18th-best ERA in the NSIC and has thrown 47 strikeouts this season which is ninth in the conference. 

Freshman Emmy Bowne has posted a 4.15 ERA for the Golden Bears this season with an 8-4 record. She has the 13th-best ERA in the conference and the fifth-most wins in the NSIC. The right-handed pitcher has thrown 36 strikeouts this season which is 12th in the conference. 

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON - Sunday, March 24 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 43, Minnesota Crookston 2

The Golden Bears have lost twice to the Golden Eagles all-time with the losses coming in 2002 and 2022. Concordia-St. Paul won 39 straight games in between those two losses. CSP is 22-2 all-time against Crookston at neutral sites. 

Minnesota Crookston has had two weeks off after its most recent contests at THE Spring Games in Florida. The Golden Eagles went 5-5 in their games in Florida. 

The Golden Eagles are led by freshman catcher Rayna French batting .316 this season. She's tallied three doubles on the year with 11 RBIs. Senior Shaelyn Grant is hitting a .309 batting average with a team-high .588 slugging percentage. She's hit five home runs this season with a team-high 18 RBIs. 

Sophomore pitcher Alexa Guilford leads Minnesota Crookston with a 2.24 ERA in 34.1 innings. She's appeared in 15 games with two starts and has a 3-3 record this season. Senior Thayda Houser has a 4.10 ERA appearing in nine games with seven starts. She has posted a 1-5 record this season. Guilford has thrown 23 strikeouts and Houser has thrown 26 strikeouts. 

Minnesota Crookston has the 14th-best team batting average in the NSIC at .246. The Golden Eagles have the 12th-best team ERA at 5.15. 

Head coach Nick Weinmeister is in his third season coaching the Golden Eagles. He has a 40-89 record at Crookston coming into this weekend. 

BEMIDJI STATE - Monday, March 25 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 41, Bemidji State 11

The Golden Bears went 3-2 against Bemidji State last season. The Golden Bears are 6-4 in the last 10 matchups and 8-4 in the last 12. Concordia-St. Paul is 22-4 all-time at neutral sites in the series and 9-7 on the road in Bemidji. 

The Beavers recently competed at the MIAA/NSIC crossover, losing all six games against the competition. Bemidji State enters this weekend on a 10-game losing streak. 

Bemidji State is led by junior outfielder Alexa Christenson batting .373 and slugging .400. She's hit a team-high 12 RBIs with two doubles. Freshman Jackie Larsen is batting .327 with 10 RBIs. Senior Molly Houts is batting .309 with a team-high on-base percentage of .441. 

Senior left-handed pitcher Stella Dolan is leading the Beavers from the mound with a 4.12 ERA. She's pitched a team-high 90 innings with 59 strikeouts. The senior has appeared in 17 games with 12 starts and putting up a 5-8 record. 

The Beavers are 11th in batting in the conference as a team hitting .262. Bemidji State has the worst ERA as a team in the NSIC at 6.32. 

Bemidji State is led by head coach Jordan Petersen in her third season with the Beavers. She has a 41-83 record coming into this weekend.