WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Both pitchers posted shutouts in the Concordia-St. Paul softball team's (10-3) victories against West Virginia Wesleyan (4-5) and Glenville State (2-3) on Monday morning. Freshman pitcher Emmy Bowne recorded a no-hitter in CSP's 9-0 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan.
This is Concordia-St. Paul's first no-hitter since March 30, 2014, in a 22-0 victory over Minnesota Crookston. Stephanie Kappes threw 11 strikeouts in five innings pitched that day.
Junior pitcher Erica McCullough threw her first shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory against Glenville State. She threw seven strikeouts and gave up five hits in 7.0 innings pitched.
On the batting side, the Golden Bears were led by freshman Alexis Monty with three hits and three RBIs on the day. Senior Annalise Scamehorn hit three times with two doubles and two RBIs. Junior Danni Sharum had the lone RBI for the Golden Bears against Glenville State.
The Golden Bears will be back in action on Tuesday, March 5 for games against Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) at 9 a.m. and Montana State-Billings at 11:15 a.m. Those two games will be CSP's first games in Florida at the Auburndale Sports Complex.
CSP vs West Virginia Wesleyan
Bowne threw a no-hitter in the five-inning contest throwing two strikeouts with three flyouts and 10 groundouts. Her perfect game was ruined in the fifth inning on a one-out error. Bowne improved to 4-2 on the season and threw 60 pitches in the game.
CSP scored four runs in the second inning. It started with a Sharum single and a double by junior Sydney Pelzer. Scamehorn brought the pair in with a 2RBI double. The senior then scored herself after stealing third, then coming home on a wild pitch. Monty hit an RBI single to bring in the fourth run of the inning.
The Golden Bears added five runs in the fourth inning which started with back-to-back singles by Pelzer and Scamehorn. Each runner advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Freshman Bryleigh Dana laid down a bunt and reached on an error, bringing Pelzer home for the fifth run.
Junior Rachel Novak hit an RBI single to bring in the sixth run of the game. After that, Concordia scored two runs via a Monty 2RBI double. Monty then stole third and then home plate for the ninth run after an errant throw by the Bobcat catcher.
Monty led the team with 3RBIs and two hits. Scamehorn finished 2-2 batting with 2 RBIs. Pelzer also finished 2-2 batting in the short game. The Golden Bears struck out three times and were only walked once in the game.
CSP vs Glenville State
The Golden Bears scored the only two runs of the game in the top of the first inning. After Monty walked and stole second, sophomore Riley Rosenthal hit a single to bring her to third base. Monty then scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch. After a groundout, Sharum hit an RBI double to bring Rosenthal in for the score.
The only other time the Golden Bears threatened to score with a runner on third base was in the top of the seventh inning. With one out and runners on second and third, Rosenthal hit to the third baseman who converted to the catcher at home for the second out. Senior Clara Heislen hit a flyout in the next at-bat, ending the inning.
This was McCullough's first complete game shutout of her career. She threw seven strikeouts which tied her career high. The Pioneers only had five hits and walked twice in the contest. With the win, McCullough improved her record to 6-1 on the season.
The Golden Bears had a nice day fielding with zero errors in the contest. Concordia-St. Paul made multiple diving catches in the outfield to keep hits off the board.
CSP left seven runners on base and the Pioneers left six runners on base. The Golden Bears struck out three times and were walked twice. The team tallied eight total hits in the contest and the Pioneers didn't have an error either.
