ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (35-9, 17-3 NSIC) scored 10 runs in the opening inning to win game one, 13-3, against Southwest Minnesota State (19-28, 10-14 NSIC) in five innings on Saturday. The Golden Bears fell in game two, 5-1, for their first conference doubleheader split of the season. 

Sophomore Riley Rosenthal hit the first home run of her career to cap off the 10-0 inning for the Golden Bears. Rosenthal tallied three hits with three RBIs total between the two contests. 

Freshman Alexis Monty finished with three hits including a double and three RBIs. Monty is now tied with Amanda Yurek for the most doubles in a season with 20. Seniors Alexus Houston and Clara Heislen each added a double of their own on the day. Junior Avery Johnson tallied three hits in game one. 

Junior pitcher Erica McCullough picked up her 22nd win of the season tying for third place in a season in CSP history with Kristen Schmidt. McCullough threw six strikeouts on the day in 9.0 innings pitched. 

The Golden Bears honored Houston, Heislen and Annalise Scamehorn for Senior Day in between the games. Heislen was given the Frankie Munkwitz Award, which is presented to a CSP softball player for her dedication, leadership, work ethic, perseverance and being a great teammate.

Augustana (38-13, 28-1 NSIC) continues to lead the conference as the Vikings are on a 20-game winning streak. CSP remains in third place three games ahead of Minnesota State (36-12, 16-6 NSIC). 

Concordia-St. Paul is back in action at Carlander Field on Sunday against top-ranked Augustana for a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is scheduled for noon with game two at 2 p.m.

Game One

The Golden Bears exploded for 10 runs in the opening inning, which is the most they've scored in an inning this season. The last time Concordia scored 10 runs in an inning was against Mercyhurst (Pa.) in 2020. That ended up being the season's final game before it was canceled due to COVID-19. 

CSP tallied eight hits in the inning. Heislen hit an RBI double to score the opening run. After Danni Sharum walked, CSP hit singles in four of the next five at-bats, including Scamehorn being hit by a pitch. 

Monty came back at the top of the order, hitting a double with the bases loaded to score two runs and extend the lead to 7-0. This led to Rosenthal's first home run of her career in center field, which brought in three more runs to lead, 10-0. 

The Mustangs hit a three-run homer in the second inning, cutting the lead to 10-3. The Golden Bears proceeded to score one run in each of the next three innings. Monty hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, Houston hit an RBI on a fielder's choice in the third inning and Sharum walked with the bases loaded in the fourth inning to bring in those three runs. 

Johnson went 3-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. Monty finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Rosenthal tallied three RBIs all on her home run. Houston had a hit and two RBIs. Eight different Golden Bears finished with an RBI in the game. 

McCullough pitched 5.0 innings with four strikeouts, one walk and three earned runs. She threw 86 pitches in her 22nd victory of the season. 

The Golden Bears outhit the Mustangs 12-7 and neither team committed an error in the game. CSP left seven runners on base compared to four for the Mustangs. 

Game Two

The Mustangs got the bats rolling early, scoring four runs via seven hits in the opening two innings. CSP got on the board in the second inning. After Houston doubled, she stole third and SMSU catcher Molly Bull threw to an uncovered third base, bringing Houston home on the error. 

That ended up being CSP's lone run scored in the game. The Mustangs hit an RBI single in the fourth inning to extend their lead to 5-1. Concordia left two runners on base in four different innings.

Rosenthal led CSP with two hits. Monty, Heislen and Houston had the other three hits for the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears were outhit 12-5 in the contest and left nine runners on base compared to seven for the Mustangs.

McCullough picked up the loss after getting the start to bring her record to 22-4 in the season. She pitched 4.0 innings giving up 10 hits and all five runs. She threw two strikeouts and one walk.

Freshman pitcher Makayla Wigern entered in the fifth inning. She only gave up two hits and a walk while holding the Mustangs scoreless. Wigern threw one strikeout in the contest.