WAYNE, Neb. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (37-13, 19-7 NSIC) got back on track with a road doubleheader sweep on Saturday against Wayne State (8-40, 4-20 NSIC). Junior pitcher Erica McCullough tallied 16 strikeouts in CSP's 5-2 and 8-5 victories. 

McCullough pitched all 14 innings in the doubleheader with 16 total strikeouts, which is the most she's thrown in a doubleheader this season. McCullough pitched a career-high 10 strikeouts in game one. She only walked one batter on the day and threw a total of 219 pitches, pushing her record to 24-6 on the season. 

Senior Alexus Houston led the hitting efforts for CSP, tallying two hits in each game. Her highlight of the day was a three-run home run in the opening inning of game two. Junior Danni Sharum hit a two-run homer in game one and finished with three hits. Houston and Sharum are tied for the Golden Bear lead in home runs with seven each. 

Clara Heislen tallied three hits with three RBIs. Avery Johnson and Alexis Monty each put up three hits with a double, all of which came in the second contest. 

The Golden Bears close regular season play on Sunday against Sioux Falls (20-26, 11-14 NSIC). CSP remains in second place one game ahead of Minnesota Duluth (39-14, 20-8 NSIC). Minnesota State (39-15, 19-9 NSIC) and MSU Moorhead (32-18, 19-9 NSIC) trail the Bulldogs by one game, and none of these teams play on Sunday. Concordia has the tiebreaker over all three teams due to sweeping them earlier in the season. 

Concordia-St. Paul's doubleheader against the Cougars is scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Sanford Diamonds in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

Game One

The Golden Bears scored four out of their five runs in the fifth inning after trailing 2-1. Sophomore Riley Rosenthal tied the game with a one-out solo shot to left-center field. Heislen followed Rosenthal by reaching first base on a Wildcat fielding error. 

With Heislen on base, Sharum hit a home run into right-center field, giving CSP a 4-2 advantage. Shortstop Sydney Pelzer followed up with her own solo homer to lead 5-2. 

The Golden Bears struck first in the third inning after Heislen hit an RBI single bringing in Johnson. The left fielder reached first base after another error by the Wildcats. Wayne State answered with a 2RBI single in the bottom of the inning giving them an early lead. 

McCullough finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts in the game. She didn't walk a single batter for the fifth time this season in a game in which she played five or more innings. The junior gave up eight hits but only allowed two earned runs. 

Sharum led the Golden Bears with two hits and two RBIs. Houston also tallied two hits with a double. Heislen, Rosenthal and Pelzer all had a hit with an RBI.

Both teams tallied eight hits, but Wayne State had three more errors than CSP, which had none. The Golden Bears left seven runners on base compared to six for the Wildcats. Only two of Concordia's five runs were earned in the game. 

Game Two

Houston opened the game with a three-run home run, bringing in Rosenthal and Sharum. Wayne State had two errors in the opening inning. 

The game remained 3-0 until the fourth inning after singles by Johnson and Monty. Heislen singled down the right-field line to lead 4-0. 

Wayne State got on the board with a five-run fifth inning. After a walk and two singles, the Wildcats hit a third single bringing in a run. Wayne State scored the next four runs on a fielder's choice and two singles, tallying five hits in the inning. 

The Golden Bears responded right away in the top of the sixth. Johnson started the hitting with a double into right-center, and Monty followed with a double of her own into the same area of the field, tying the game at 5-5. 

After Monty stole third, Heislen brought her in with an RBI single to lead 6-5. This was Heislen's 35th RBI on the season. She is three away from her career-high 38 last season. 

CSP added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. After Houston singled and Pelzer walked, freshman Bryleigh Dana tallied her 11th hit of the season to bring in two more runs, giving CSP an 8-5 advantage. In the bottom of the seventh, it only took seven pitches to get the Wildcats out in order.

Monty and Johnson each led the team with three hits and a double. Houston tallied two hits with three RBIs. Heislen had two hits with two RBIs. Dana finished with a hit and two RBIs. 

McCullough pitched all seven innings, throwing six strikeouts. She gave up five earned runs on nine hits and one walk. 

The Golden Bears outhit the Wildcats 12-9. Wayne State had two errors, and Concordia had one. CSP left nine runners on base compared to four for the Wildcats.