MANKATO, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (1-3) picked up its first win of the season in the final game on Saturday over Minnesota State (2-1), 4-1. This win came after the Golden Bears dropped the opening game of the day against Minnesota Duluth (5-2), 4-2. 

Freshman pitcher Tatum Dunlavy pitched a complete game in the win vs. Minnesota State. She struck out three batters while allowing six hits, three walks and an earned run to pick up her first career win. 

Senior Sydney Pelzer led the Golden Bears with four hits in eight at-bats on the day. She tallied two doubles and an RBI in CSP's 4-1 win over Minnesota State. Riley Rosenthal added three hits and an RBI on the day. Bryleigh Dana and Alexis Monty each had two hits with an RBI. 

Concordia-St. Paul is off next weekend before heading to Topeka, Kansas on Feb. 21-23. The Golden Bears will play five different MIAA opponents starting with Emporia State (Kan.) and Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Friday, Feb. 21. 

CSP vs Minnesota Duluth

The Golden Bears struck first in the top of the third inning, led off by a single by Rachel Novak. After Novak advanced to second on a passed ball, Dana brought her home with an RBI single to get the early 1-0 advantage. 

CSP scored once again in the top of the fourth. Ella Arendt reached on an error allowing Rosenthal to bring her home, giving Concordia a 2-0 advantage.

Minnesota Duluth scored all four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bulldogs used four walks, two singles and a double to score the four runs. UMD's Morgan McMillan hit a ground-rule double to open the floodgates and bring in the first run. 

Concordia had one more golden opportunity in the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and one out. Rosenthal unfortunately lined out into a double play at third base to end the inning. This was the second time CSP left the bases loaded in the game. 

Rosenthal and Dana each finished with two hits and an RBI. Erica McCullough pitched the opening two innings without allowing any runs and struck out two batters. Emmy Bowne pitched 2.2 innings giving up four runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Abi Carter finished the game pitching 1.1 innings only allowing one hit and one walk. 

Alyssa Williams picked up the win for Minnesota Duluth pitching 5.1 innings. She gave up eight hits and a walk while striking out seven batters. Luoma Allison got the save while only allowing one hit in 1.2 innings. McMillan led the Bulldogs offensively with two hits, one RBI and one run scored. 

The Golden Bears outhit the Bulldogs 9-6 while each team had two errors. CSP left nine runners on base while UMD left seven runners on base. Concordia struck out seven times while Duluth struck out five times. 

CSP vs Minnesota State

The Golden Bears struck first in the opening inning sparked by a Pelzer two-out double. On the next at-bat, Carter brought Pelzer home with an RBI single to right field giving the Golden Bears a 1-0 advantage. Dunlavy added two strikeouts in the bottom of the opening inning to continue the hot start. 

Monty reached on a single to start the third inning. After Rosenthal reached on a fielder's choice, Pelzer smacked another double to left center field. This brought Rosenthal in for the second run of the game. 

CSP added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning. Novak started the inning with a single. After that, Ava Blake reached on a throwing error and Arendt was hit by a pitch to load the bases. 

With the bases loaded, Ashlyn Peterson recorded her first career hit with a single to bring in Novak. Monty then hit a sacrifice fly into center field, bringing in Blake to give CSP the 4-0 advantage. 

Minnesota State threatened in the final inning with runners on second and third with one out. MSU's Marina Carter smacked the ball on the ground toward shortstop where Pelzer made a diving grab and threw the ball to third base for the out, scoring a run for the Mavericks. Minnesota State grounded out to Dunlavy on the next at-bat to seal the victory. 

Pelzer finished the game with three hits including two doubles and an RBI. Novak finished with two hits and two stolen bases. Carter, Peterson and Monty each added a hit and an RBI. 

Dunlavy pitched all seven innings throwing three strikeouts. She allowed six hits and three walks in the game. The freshman only allowed one extra-base hit with a double in the third inning. 

The Mavericks were led by Carter with two hits and an RBI. Gianna Lara added two hits and a walk. Brianna Stone pitched a team-high three innings with one strikeout. She allowed four hits and two earned runs. 

CSP outhit Minnesota State 10-6 and the Mavericks committed the only error of the game. The Golden Bears left seven runners on base compared to six for the Mavericks. Concordia struck out a season-low two times in the game and was never walked.