ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Golden Bear softball team (22-6, 4-0 NSIC) is looking to continue their hot NSIC start this weekend against MSU Moorhead (16-10, 3-1 NSIC) and Northern State (14-10, 0-4 NSIC).
Following a schedule change due to weather, both games will be played at the Aberdeen City Dome in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Golden Bears are scheduled to play MSU Moorhead on Friday, March 29 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. CSP will then play Northern State on Saturday, March 30 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears went 4-0 in the opening weekend of NSIC competition for the first time since 2019. Concordia-St. Paul picked up a pair of five-inning victories on Sunday against Minnesota Crookston at the American State Bank Sports Complex in Sioux Center, Iowa.
Junior catcher Danni Sharum hit a three-run homer in the first inning of game one against the Golden Eagles. The Golden Bears went on to get the 9-1 victory by outhitting Minnesota Crookston 12-5.
CSP started hot in game two scoring seven runs off of six hits in the opening inning. Junior shortstop Sydney Pelzer led the Golden Bears with three RBIs. Sharum and senior Alexus Houston tallied two hits and two RBIs each.
The Golden Bears stayed the night in Sioux Center to play Bemidji State on Monday. The team found themselves down 3-0 early in the game. A pair of back-to-back solo home runs by Pelzer and Houston cut the Beaver lead down to 3-2.
In the fifth inning, freshman Alexis Monty hit an RBI triple to tie the game at 3-3. Monty was brought home on an RBI from sophomore Riley Rosenthal to give the Golden Bears a 4-3 lead. Freshman pitcher Emmy Bowne picked up the victory and junior pitcher Erica McCullough tallied a save getting the final three outs in the game.
In the second game, Concordia-St. Paul set up two of its three runs with sacrifice bunts where the runner on base went from first to third. The Golden Bears scored their other run on a solo homer by junior Rachel Novak.
McCullough pitched all seven innings in the 3-1 victory without allowing a single earned run. The junior led the team on the weekend with a 1.08 ERA and nine strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched.
The Golden Bears had a .391 batting average as a team led by Houston batting .500 with three RBIs. Pelzer and Monty each hit a .455 batting average with Pelzer leading the team in RBIs on the weekend with four.
SEASON LEADERS
Monty leads the NSIC in batting average hitting .536 on the season. The freshman has the fourth-best batting average in NCAA Division II. She also has the best on-base percentage in the league at .571 and the third-best slugging average at .701. Monty leads the Golden Bears with 11 stolen bases which is third in the conference.
Senior Annalise Scamehorn has the second-best batting average on the team hitting .380. She's hit a team-high 12 doubles which is second in the conference and 22nd in the nation.
Houston and Sharum lead the team in home runs hitting three each. Monty and Sharum lead the team in RBIs as each of them has hit 25 on the season. The pair is tied for sixth in the NSIC in that category.
McCullough leads the Golden Bears in pitching on the season with a 2.74 ERA. She's thrown 56 strikeouts and has a 12-2 record on the season. Bowne has a 3.88 ERA this season with a 10-4 record.
Concordia-St. Paul leads the NSIC in hitting with a team batting average of .361. Which is sixth in the nation. The Golden Bears are eighth in the nation in doubles per game and 23rd in the nation in scoring.
MSU Moorhead - Friday, March 29 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 41, MSU Moorhead 11
The Golden Bears have put up two extended win streaks against MSU Moorhead with a 12-game streak from 2007-13 and a 10-game win streak from 2016-21. The Golden Bears were swept by the Dragons last season in a 3-2 loss and an 8-0 loss.
Concordia-St. Paul has won seven of the last 10 matchups against MSU Moorhead. The Golden Bears are 17-4 all-time in neutral site contests and 9-5 on the road against the Dragons.
The Dragons started NSIC play with three one-run victories. Two were against Minnesota State and the third was a 5-4 victory against Augustana in game two after losing game one 4-0 to the Vikings. MSU Moorhead has won five of its last six games.
Senior Evey Evans and sophomore Azalya Lopez each have a .388 batting average to lead the Dragons. Lopez leads the team with 18 RBIs. Freshman Chloe McKinney has the third-best batting average on the team hitting .333.
Lopez leads the Dragons on the mound as well with a 2.70 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched. Her ERA is 14th in the NSIC. She's thrown 53 strikeouts giving up a .264 batting average with an 8-4 record.
Freshman Teagan Clemmons is second on the team with a 2.89 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched. Clemmons has thrown 32 strikeouts this season and has a 4-3 record. Evans is third in pitching on the team with a 2.14 ERA with a 2-1 record in 19.2 innings pitched.
Head coach Mike Armitage is in his third season coaching the Dragons. MSU Moorhead finished 30-16 last season and made the NSIC tournament for the first time in 15 years. Armitage has a 54-62 record at MSU Moorhead entering this weekend.
NORTHERN STATE - Saturday, March 30 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 39, Northern State 10
Concordia-St. Paul has won four straight games against the Wolves. The programs first met in 2000 and the Golden Bears won the first 27 games against Northern State with the first loss coming in 2011. Northern State's longest winning streak is seven games from 2015-18.
The Golden Bears are 7-3 in the last 10 matchups against Northern State. CSP is 10-2 all-time in neutral sites and 13-4 on the road against Northern State.
The Wolves went 0-4 in the opening weekend of NSIC play. Northern State lost 4-0 and 9-1 against Augustana on Friday and then lost 5-3 and 4-3 against Minnesota State on Saturday. Northern State finished 6-4 at THE Spring Games in Florida earlier this season.
Senior Lexi Chase leads the Wolves and is second in the NSIC with a .429 batting average. She's hitting a .571 slugging average and has a .492 on-base percentage. Sophomore Kyra Knudtson is sixth in the NSIC with a .406 batting average.
Elly Smith leads the Wolves in RBIs with 18 tying for 17th in the NSIC. The senior is slashing .397/.446/.500 this season. The Wolves have eight starting batters hitting .300 or higher.
Junior Abby Rux leads Northern State with a 2.66 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched. She's struck out 31 batters on the season. Chase leads the Wolves with 38 strikeouts while also posting a 2.69 ERA in 39.0 innings pitched. Freshman Mckenzie Wanner has a 2.93 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched and freshman Taylor Coleman has a 3.17 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched.
Ashley Schilling is in her third season as the head coach of Northern State. She has a 40-82 record coming into this weekend of play.
