ROSEVILLE, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (10-17, 2-0 NSIC) swept its conference opening doubleheader against Bemidji State (13-13, 0-2 NSIC). Alexis Monty tallied a team-high six hits on the day while Sydney Pelzer and Riley Rosenthal each smacked two home runs. 

The Golden Bears won the first game in six innings, 10-2, and the second in five innings, 13-2. Monty's six hits included four doubles and three RBIs. Pelzer knocked in a team-high nine RBIs. Rosenthal hit a double with her two home runs and tallied three RBIs. 

Freshman Ava Blake batted .600 on the day with three hits and a double. Rachel Novak had three hits with a home run. Katie Klotz had a home run and a triple with three RBIs. Lily Burke also added two hits and two RBIs. 

Tatum Dunlavy and Erica McCullough each picked up wins on the mound. Dunlavy pitched in game two with a 1.40 ERA in five innings. She allowed four hits, four walks and one earned run while throwing a strikeout. 

McCullough pitched the first game earning her first win of the season. She had a 2.80 ERA in five innings. She allowed five hits, two earned runs and two walks. 

The Golden Bears are back in action on Saturday against Minnesota Crookston (13-16, 1-1 NSIC). The Golden Eagles split a series with Southwest Minnesota State (19-9, 1-1 NSIC) Friday afternoon. The doubleheader is scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at Reynolds Field at the University of Northwestern. 

Game One
Rosenthal got her spectacular day going early during the second at-bat of the game with a solo homer to center field. Bemidji claimed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs off two singles, a double and a sacrifice fly. 

That ended up being BSU's only lead of the day as CSP immediately responded in the top of the second. Blake doubled, Klotz singled and Burke singled to tie the game at 2-2. After that, Monty hit a 2RBI single to center field for a 4-2 lead. Later in the inning, Pelzer used a sacrifice bunt to bring Monty home, giving CSP a 5-2 advantage. 

Novak singled to lead off the third inning and Klotz smacked a homer to left field, extending the lead to 7-2. Rosenthal doubled and stole third in the fourth inning. Pelzer then sacrificed herself again, this time with a flyout to center field for the 8-2 advantage. 

It was Monty's turn to hit a double in the top of the sixth inning. Rosenthal brought her in with her second home run of the game. This marked the junior's first time hitting two home runs in the game in her career.

The 10-2 lead meant the Golden Bears could end the game in the bottom of the sixth inning if they didn't allow a run. Sophomore Emmy Bowne relieved McCullough on the mound in the final inning. Bemidji tried their best to extend the game with a one-out triple, but the Golden Bears got a groundout and flyout on the final two pitches of the game. 

Rosenthal led CSP with three hits and three RBIs. Monty and Klotz each tallied two hits with two RBIs. Pelzer finished with two RBIs and Burke had a hit with an RBI. 

The Golden Bears tallied 10 hits and finished the game without an error. This marks the fifth game of the season CSP has played without an error. The Beavers finished with six hits and an error. Concordia left three runners on base while Bemidji left five. 

Game Two
Concordia-St. Paul got going early and loaded the bases in the first inning, but were unable to convert. After getting a double play defensively in the bottom of the first, Monty hit an RBI double to bring in the first run of the game in the second. The sophomore third baseman hit two doubles in back-to-back innings to start her day.

After Rosenthal walked, Pelzer hit a three-run homer to lead 4-0. Bemidji State added a run in the second inning. In the third, Novak led off with a solo home run. After Blake singled, Klotz hit an RBI triple. A few plays later, Klotz stole home on a wild play involving a CSP bunt attempt, extending the lead to 7-1.

Bemidji State cut into the lead with a run in the fourth inning. The Golden Bears exploded in the top of the fifth inning, putting 12 different batters at the plate. After Blake and Ella Arendt singled, Burke brought in a run with a single of her own. 

Pelzer then had the highlight home run of the day. The senior smashed a ball out of the park into left field for a two-out bases-loaded grand slam. Later in the inning, senior Morgan Medlo scored a run after Ashlyn Peterson hit an RBI single to bring her in. This gave the Golden Bears the 13-2 advantage. 

Dunlavy improved her record to 5-5 on the season and threw the only strikeout for CSP on the day. Monty led the Golden Bears with four hits including three doubles and an RBI. Pelzer totaled nine RBIs on her two home runs. 

Blake and Novak each finished the game with two hits and scored a run. CSP tallied 14 hits as a team while limiting Bemidji State to four hits. This ties for the second-most hits for Concordia in a game this season. The Golden Bears committed the only error of the game.