ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (7-13) faces MIAA competition this upcoming weekend. The Golden Bears are facing Nebraska Kearney (9-11) on Friday before doubleheaders against Missouri Southern (15-9) and Pittsburg State (Kan.) (15-7).

CSP plays the Lopers at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 14 in Joplin, Missouri at Pat Lipira Softball Complex. The Golden Bears stay in Joplin on Saturday to face Missouri Southern at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 15. Concordia then travels to Pittsburg, Kansas to face the Gorillas at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at PSU Softball Field. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears finished their spring break trip to Florida this past weekend. CSP went 6-6 at THE Spring Games winning six of their last nine games. Concordia is 36-15 in its last five seasons at THE Spring Games. 

Sydney Pelzer led the Golden Bears slashing .438/.568/.688 over the 12 games. She tallied a team-high eight doubles and at one point reached on eight straight plate appearances.

Alexis Monty smacked a team-high 15 hits while scoring 14 runs during the tournament. She tallied two doubles, a triple and a home run. Bryleigh Dana drilled three home runs to total a team-high 12 RBIs. 

Emmy Bowne led the Golden Bears on the mound pitching shutouts against Franklin Pierce (N.H.) and Ohio Dominican. She went 3-1 at THE Spring Games with a 1.95 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched. 

Freshman Tatum Dunlavy also went 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA. She tallied 11 strikeouts in 30.1 innings pitched. 

SEASON LEADERS
Pelzer leads CSP slashing .368/.479/.667 on the season. She has a team-high 11 doubles and 16 RBIs. She's smacked two home runs and has walked a team-high 11 times. 

Monty is close behind at .338/.421/.492. She's tallied a team-high 22 hits and has walked 11 times. Monty has smacked two doubles, one triple and two home runs. She has 14 RBIs on the season. 

Freshman Ava Blake has emerged with a .273 batting average with 15 hits and a triple. She's also walked 10 times. Dana is slashing .262/.313/.500 with a team-high three home runs and 14 RBIs. 

Bowne leads CSP on the mound this season with a 3.06 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched. She has a team-high 23 strikeouts and a 3-6 record this season. Dunlavy has a 4.54 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched with a 4-3 record. She's thrown 17 strikeouts this season.

Nebraska Kearney - Friday, March 14 at 4 p.m.
Series Record: CSP 7, UNK 4

The Golden Bears have won four straight games against the Lopers including sweeping a doubleheader last season. Last season, Pelzer and Monty each tallied four hits and three RBIs in the 9-6 and 10-2 doubleheader victories. Erica McCullough pitched 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts. 

The Lopers are 9-11 this season and play a doubleheader on Wednesday against Chadron State (Neb.) on Wednesday. UNK has played one game against NSIC competition, losing 5-2 to Winona State. 

Sophomore Alyssa Fortik leads the Lopers with a .373 batting average. She's tallied 22 hits with six doubles, three triples and a team-high 16 RBIs. Senior Mary Chvatal is batting .345 with 20 hits, five doubles and two triples. She leads the team in stolen bases with eight. 

Freshman Jerzie Schindler has emerged as the top pitcher for the Lopers. She's 5-3 this season with a shutout in 48.2 innings pitched. She's thrown 26 strikeouts while allowing 18 earned runs.

Freshman Kalli Ulven has pitched the second-most innings for UNK with 41.2 innings pitched. She's thrown a team-high 29 strikeouts while giving up 23 earned runs. Junior Madeline Janssen is 2-1 pitching 22 innings with a 2.86 ERA and a shutout. 

The Lopers are led by head coach Katie Ackermann in her sixth season. She has an 80-110 record with UNK entering Wednesday against Chadron State. 

Missouri Southern - Saturday, March 15 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series Record: CSP 6, MSSU 3  

The Golden Bears have won five straight games against the Lions, with the last loss in 2016. CSP played Missouri Southern in one game last season, winning 5-4 in an eight-inning comeback victory. 

Concordia-St. Paul scored three runs in the seventh inning to tie the game at 4-4. Avery Johnson started the run with a double followed by an RBI single by Rachel Novak. Monty doubled to put runners on second and third. Riley Rosenthal then hit a 2RBI double, tying the game. 

In extra innings, Pelzer hit an RBI single to take a 5-4 lead. Bowne pitched the final four innings of the game, allowing 0 runs, two hits and dishing out three strikeouts. 

The Lions are 15-9 this season highlighted by a 14-13 11-inning victory over No. 20 Southern Nazarene. Missouri Southern also suffered a close 5-3 eight-inning loss to No. 1 Texas-Tyler. The Lions recently went 1-1 this past weekend against No. 10 Central Oklahoma. 

Missouri Southern is led on the mound by senior Avery Tallman, who recently won MIAA Pitcher of the Week this past weekend. She has a 1.99 ERA and a 6-3 record this season in 56.1 innings pitched. Tallman has thrown 26 strikeouts. 

Sophomore Kiki Pickens has a 2.32 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched. She's thrown 76 strikeouts which ranks 21st in the nation. Pickens is allowing an opposing .164 batting average. 

Bailey Dillon leads Missouri Southern slashing .397/.476/.575 with 29 hits, four doubles, three triples and a home run. Junior Katie Gray is slashing .375/.475/.859 with eight home runs and a team-high 28 RBIs. 

Senior Kylee Jacks is batting .329 with two triples and two home runs. She's stolen 11 bases this season. Junior Taylor Nuckolls has two doubles, two triples and 15 RBIs. 

Head coach Hallie Blackney is in her seventh season with a 175-120-1 record entering this weekend. 

Pittsburg State - Sunday, March 16 at 1 p.m.
Series Record: PSU 6, CSP 3

CSP has lost the last five matchups against the Gorillas including a game earlier this season. The Golden Bears fell, 6-2 in this season's matchup on Feb. 24. Concordia scored on a Novak double and Rosenthal single to tie the game at 2-2, but PSU scored four unanswered runs to win the game. 

The Gorillas received five votes in this week's NFCA Coaches Poll. This puts them as the 28th-best team in the nation in the poll. PSU is 15-7 this year and enters after losing two games to No. 10 Central Oklahoma and picking up two wins against Newman (Kan.) this past weekend. 

Pittsburg State is led by Heather Arnett, the reigning MIAA Player of the Week. Arnett is slashing .525/.541/.675 this season. She has five doubles, two triples and one home run. Arnett's batting average ranks 15th in the nation. 

Senior Courtney Storey isn't doing too bad either slashing .420/.481/.507. She's tallied four doubles, a triple and 19 RBIs. Alleyna Rushing is batting .385 with a double and home run. Kadyn Trochim leads the team in RBIs with 21 and home runs with five while batting .306. 

On the mound, Pittsburg State is led by senior Aydenne Brown with a 2.35 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched. She's recorded two shutouts this season and a save while allowing an opposing .164 batting average. Brown has thrown 64 strikeouts. 

Reigning MIAA Freshman of the Year Ava Laurent is back with a 3.42 ERA. She's thrown 65 strikeouts in a team-high 61.1 innings pitched. She's allowed an opposing .242 batting average. 

Head coach Josh Barnes is in his first season with the Gorillas. He previously coached NJCAA powerhouse Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri. He had a 221-161-1 record in seven seasons in the NJCAA, putting his record at 236-168-1 including this season with Pittsburg State.