WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (12-4) only needed five innings in each game to defeat Clarion (Pa.) (3-9) and West Virginia Wesleyan (6-6) on Thursday. The Golden Bears beat Clarion 10-2 and then emerged victorious 12-1 against West Virginia Wesleyan. 

The top of the order dominated for CSP as sophomore Riley Rosenthal led the team with five RBIs on three hits. Senior Clara Heislen had four hits, two doubles and four RBIs. Freshman Alexis Monty tallied six hits and three RBIs. 

Pitchers Emmy Bowne and Erica McCullough both picked up victories. The Golden Bears only gave up eight hits on the day and threw three strikeouts in total. Concordia-St. Paul improved to 8-2 at THE Spring Games in Florida with the victories. 

Concordia-St. Paul will finish up play in Florida tomorrow morning against St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) and Thomas More (Ky.). First pitch against St. Thomas Aquinas is scheduled for 8 a.m. and first pitch against Thomas More is scheduled for 10:15 a.m.

CSP vs Clarion

The Golden Bears started scoring with a 2RBI double by senior Annalise Scamehorn in the second inning. The Golden Bears tallied three more runs in the third inning with Monty hitting a SAC bunt to get the third run. Heislen doubled for another run and then she stole third and came home off of an error by the Golden Eagle catcher. 

Rosenthal hit a 2RBI single down the right field line to score two more runs in the fourth inning. The Golden Eagles responded with two runs in the top of the fifth, but the Golden Bears finished with three runs in the bottom of the inning to end it. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, freshman catcher Bryleigh Dana hit an RBI reaching on a fielder's choice. Junior Rachel Novak hit an RBI double to walk off the game and give CSP the run-rule victory. 

Monty, Novak and senior Alexus Houston each finished with a team-high two hits, with Houston scoring twice herself. Rosenthal, Scamehorn and Novak each hit two RBIs. 

Bowne picked up the victory improving her record to 5-2 this season. She threw 5.0 innings giving up six runs with one strikeout. She walked three batters in the game.

Clarion left seven runners on base compared to two for CSP. Concordia had 10 hits compared to six for Clarion. The Golden Eagles had three errors and Concordia-St. Paul had none. 

CSP vs West Virginia Wesleyan

Concordia-St. Paul started the game hot scoring three runs in the opening inning. After Monty hit a double to start the game, Rosenthal brought her in with an RBI single. Heislen added on with an RBI double then stole home for the third run of the game. 

CSP repeated the start of the success from the previous inning in the second inning with Monty scoring off another Rosenthal RBI single. In the third inning, Novak hit an RBI single which was followed by a pair of 2RBI singles by Monty and Heislen. Junior Danni Sharum hit an RBI double to give CSP a 10-0 lead after three innings. 

In the fourth inning, the top of the order struck again as Monty hit an RBI single to lead 11-0. Rosenthal hit a sacrifice fly to left field, giving CSP a 12-0 advantage. The Bobcats scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the fourth off of an error. 

Monty, the leadoff hitter, batted 4-4 with three RBIs and scored three times herself. Rosenthal, the second hitter, batted 2-2 with three RBIs. Heislen, the third hitter, batted 3-4 with three RBIs as well. Junior Avery Johnson had two hits with two RBIs.

McCullough improved her record to 8-1 on the season. She pitched all five innings with two strikeouts and only gave up two hits. She didn't walk any batters and didn't give up any earned runs. 

This was the second time CSP has defeated West Virginia Wesleyan at THE Spring Games. Bowne threw a no-hitter against the Bobcats earlier in the week in a 9-0 victory on Monday, March 5.