ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team is preparing for the final regular season week of the season with road contests against Winona State (30-18, 14-8 NSIC), Wayne State (8-38, 4-18 NSIC) and Sioux Falls (19-26, 10-14 NSIC).
The Golden Bears travel to Winona on Wednesday for a doubleheader against the Warriors at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. CSP will then play in Wayne on Saturday at noon and 2 p.m. before heading to Sioux Falls on Sunday for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears went 1-3 this past weekend in the home finale doubleheaders against Southwest Minnesota State (19-30, 10-16 NSIC) and Augustana (40-13, 25-1 NSIC). Concordia won the weekend's opening game, but then lost the last three games for the first time this season.
CSP scored 10 runs in the opening inning against the Mustangs on Saturday. The Golden Bears went through their entire order tallying eight hits, finishing on a three-run home run by Riley Rosenthal. This was the first time Concordia scored 10 runs in an inning since 2020.
CSP won the game 13-3 and scored in every inning, forcing a run-rule after five innings. Freshman Alexis Monty went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Erica McCullough picked up her 22nd win of the season from behind the mound, throwing four strikeouts in five innings.
The Mustangs responded scoring the first four runs in the second game to take an early lead. Concordia-St. Paul scored it's only run on a stolen base error by the Mustangs. Freshman pitcher Makayla Wigern threw three scoreless innings in relief of McCullough.
The Golden Bears were outhit 17-8 against Augustana on Sunday in the 3-0 and 7-2 losses. Wigern started the first game and pitched all seven innings. She held the opposing team scoreless in nine out of 10 innings pitched on the weekend.
The Golden Bears were held scoreless for 17 innings this weekend. Junior catcher Danni Sharum finally ended the scoreless streak with a two-run homer in the sixth inning of game two.
SEASON LEADERS
Monty remains second in the nation with a .519 batting average. The freshman's .568 on-base percentage is eighth in the country, and she ranks sixth nationally in doubles. Her 20 doubles are currently tied for the most in a season in program history.
Sharum leads the Golden Bears with 42 RBIs and six home runs. She's tied for the fifth-most RBIs in the conference. The junior catcher has a .354 batting average this season.
Senior Clara Heislen is hitting .360 on the season with 10 doubles and three home runs. Annalise Scamehorn has a .358 batting average on the season with 14 doubles. Sydney Pelzer, Rosenthal and Alexus Houston are all batting above .300 too this season.
Erica McCullough continues to lead the NSIC in wins with 22 on the season. This is tied for third in a season in school history. The junior lefty has a 3.09 ERA this season with 112 strikeouts. She's tied for the seventh-most strikeouts in the NSIC.
The Golden Bears dropped to second in batting average in the conference. CSP has a .344 average, and Augustana has a .355 average. Concordia has the 15th-best batting average in the nation. The Golden Bears are sixth in the conference in ERA at 3.41.
IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
Augustana clinched the NSIC Regular Season Championship this past weekend after sweeping CSP. The Golden Bears remain in second place in the NSIC entering this week.
Minnesota State and Minot State are tied for third place with 17-7 conference records. The Mavericks are playing Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana while the Beavers are playing Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. Minnesota Duluth and Winona State are one game behind third place with eight losses each.
WINONA STATE - Wednesday, April 24 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Series History: Winona State 37, Concordia-St. Paul 14
The Golden Bears ended a 17-game losing streak last season upsetting the Warriors 9-0 in the NSIC Tournament. CSP's last win before that against Winona was in 2010. The Golden Bears are 3-17 all-time on the road against Winona State.
The Warriors went 2-2 this past weekend being swept by Augustana and then swept Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday. Winona State beat the Mustangs twice in five innings and scored eight or more runs in three of the four contests.
Senior Abbie Hlas leads Winona State with a .406 batting average and a .468 on-base percentage this season. She has the fifth-best batting average in the NSIC and the sixth-best on-base percentage.
Sam Keller is batting .391 with 40 RBIs during her senior season. She has a team-high 17 doubles and six home runs. Her batting average ranks sixth in the conference. The Warriors have seven players batting .300 or higher.
Sophomore pitcher Izzy Howe has the best ERA for the Warriors at 2.76. She's thrown 121 strikeouts this season, ranking fourth in the NSIC. Junior Abby Smith and freshman Jayda Berg have also started games for the Warriors this season. Smith has a 3.61 ERA in 109.2 innings pitched.
Winona State has the third-best batting average in the NSIC at .339. The Warriors' .476 slugging percentage and .402 on-base percentage are also third in the conference. Winona State has the NSIC's fifth-best team ERA at 2.82.
Head coach Greg Jones is in his 24th season with Winona State. He's among the top eight active Division II head coaches with the most wins. Jones has a career record of 959-334-4 entering this doubleheader against the Golden Bears.
WAYNE STATE - Saturday, April 27 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series History: Concordia-St. Paul 30, Wayne State 22
Concordia has won the last five matchups against the Wildcats dating back to 2021. The Golden Bears have won 11 out of the last 12 matchups against Wayne State. CSP is 14-13 on the road all-time in Wayne, Nebraska.
Wayne State went 1-3 this past weekend losing a doubleheader to Sioux Falls before splitting with Minnesota State. The Wildcats won the finale against Minnesota State 5-2.
Freshman Jordyn Klein leads Wayne State with a .288 batting average and nine doubles on the season. Freshman Jordyn Rochholz is batting .270 on the season with eight doubles and 13 RBIs. Not a single Wildcat batter has more than two home runs this season.
The Wildcats are led on the mound by junior Samantha Felt with a 5.00 ERA this season in 106.1 innings pitched. She has thrown 42 strikeouts this year in 26 appearances. Junior Grace Lucka has a 5.39 ERA and leads the Wildcats with 76 strikeouts.
Wayne State is last in the NSIC with a .232 team batting average. The Wildcats are 14th in the conference in pitching with a 5.84 ERA.
Christy Warnock is in her second year as the head coach of Wayne State. She served as an assistant coach at South Dakota before joining the Wildcats. Warnock has a 21-77 record as a head coach.
SIOUX FALLS - Sunday, April 28 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Series History: Sioux Falls 14, Concordia-St. Paul 9
The Golden Bears are 2-4 all-time on the road against the Cougars. CSP won two out of three games against Sioux Falls last season and has been 6-4 in the last 10 matchups. Concordia-St. Paul defeated the Cougars earlier this season in the opening weekend of the year.
The Golden Bears trailed by four runs heading into the final inning of the contest. Heislen hit an RBI single, and Sharum hit a three-run homer to tie the game at 6-6, sending it into extra innings. After Sioux Falls scored four runs in the eighth inning, CSP won the game with five runs in the bottom of the eighth. That rally was led by a 2RBI double by Sharum and a walk-off single by Houston.
Sioux Falls went 3-1 last week in games against Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State. The Cougars have a doubleheader against Winona State on Saturday before facing the Golden Bears on Sunday.
Freshman Riley Schwisow leads the Cougars with a .389 batting average and 42 RBIs. She's also hit a team-high 10 doubles and nine home runs. Schwisow is tied for sixth in the NSIC in batting average, tied for fifth in RBIs, and seventh in home runs.
Junior Allannah Naumann has a .351 batting average with six doubles and two home runs. Senior Hannah Fry is hitting .308, and senior Megan Lawson is hitting .307.
Sophomore Maddi Duncan has a 3.51 ERA in 138.1 innings pitched. She's thrown 112 strikeouts, tying her for seventh in the NSIC. Redshirt freshman Campbell Petrick has a 6.37 ERA in 21 appearances this season.
The Cougars are eighth in the NSIC with a .276 team batting average. They are 11th in pitching with a 4.34 ERA.
Head coach Erin Bly is in her first season as the head coach of the Cougars. She spent the last five seasons as the head coach of Briar Cliff where she had an overall record of 96-95.
