SIOUX CENTER, Iowa - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (20-6, 2-0 NSIC) opened NSIC play with doubleheader victories against Minnesota Crookston (7-19, 0-2 NSIC). The Golden Bears tallied 24 hits winning both games in five innings. CSP won 9-1 in the first game and 10-2 in the second game. 

Junior catcher Danni Sharum tallied a team-high six RBIs for the Golden Bears. She hit her third home run of the season in game one and tallied two hits in game two. Senior Annalise Scamehorn hit two doubles on the day with a total of three RBIs. Shortstop Sydney Pelzer tallied three hits with three RBIs on the day. 

Freshman pitcher Emmy Bowne picked up her ninth win of the season in the first-game victory. She threw three strikeouts and only gave up one earned run. Junior pitcher Erica McCullough improved her season record to 11-1 in the second game. 

The Golden Bears return to the American State Bank Sports Complex on the Dordt University campus on Monday. CSP is set to play Bemidji State (8-17, 2-0 NSIC) in a doubleheader at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. 

Game One

The Golden Bears opened the game with a bang, starting with a three-run homer to left field by Sharum in the first inning. Sophomore Riley Rosenthal hit a single on a full count and senior Clara Heislen walked on a full count to set up the three-run home run. 

Sharum didn't stop there. After Rosenthal reached on a fielder's choice and a Heislen double in the third inning, the junior catcher brought in another run with a sacrifice fly to right field to give CSP a 4-0 advantage. 

With two outs in the sixth inning, junior Rachel Novak was up to bat with junior Avery Johnson on first base. Novak hit a double to left-center field and attempted to advance to third base on the throw attempt at home plate to get Johnson out. After Johnson was safe at home, Crookston catcher Haley Koch underthrew the attempt at third to get Novak out, bringing her home for the sixth run of the game. 

Koch redeemed herself in the fifth inning with a solo home run to get the Golden Eagles on the board. The Golden Bears responded with two singles by senior Alexus Houston and Pelzer. Scamehorn then hit a 2RBI double to extend the lead to 8-1. Novak followed a few batters later with an RBI single, giving Concordia the five-inning victory. 

Sharum led the team with four RBIs on one hit. Pelzer, Houston and Novak tallied two hits each. Scamehorn and Novak each finished with two RBIs. Bowne improved her record to 9-4 on the season. She threw three strikeouts giving up five hits and one earned run.

CSP tallied 12 hits with three doubles as a team. Each team left four runners on base and each team had an error. 

Game Two

The Golden Bears kept the momentum from the final inning of game one rolling into game two. The squad scored seven runs in the opening inning off of six hits. After Monty and Rosenthal singled to start the game, Sharum brought in two runs with a single of her own. 

Houston followed with an RBI double into center field. Pelzer hit a 2RBI single after that, extending the lead to 5-0. Scamehorn doubled to bring Pelzer home and Monty brought Scamehorn in on a fielder's choice to open the game with a 7-0 lead. 

On the first at-bat of the second inning, Golden Eagle centerfielder Shaelyn Grant hit a solo home run. The Golden Bears answered in the bottom of the inning with a Pelzer sacrifice fly to lead 8-1. 

Koch hit an RBI double for Crookston in the fourth inning, cutting the lead to 8-2. Rosenthal singled and Heislen doubled to left field to start the bottom of the fourth, extending CSP's advantage to 9-2. The Golden Bears scored again after Crookston pitcher Evie Stuck overthrew the first basemen on a Houston hit, bringing Heislen home for the score. 

The Golden Eagles struck out twice and lined out in the fifth inning, ending the game at 10-2. McCullough picked up her 11th win of the season. The left-handed pitcher threw five strikeouts and gave up four hits in the victory. She didn't throw a single walk in the game. 

Rosenthal, Heislen, Sharum and Houston at the two, three, four and five hitting spots led the team with two hits each. Pelzer, the sixth hitter, finished with a team-high three RBIs with one hit. Sharum and Houston each tallied two RBIs and Heislen reached home three different times. 

CSP outhit Crookston 12-4 and the Golden Eagles had the only error of the contest. The Golden Bears left three runners on base and Minnesota Crookston left two on base.