ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team's (12-17, 4-0 NSIC) midweek matchup against Winona State (22-7, 3-1 NSIC) has been site reversed to Winona State. The Golden Bears will now face the Warriors at Maynard R. Johnson Field on Wednesday, March 26 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Concordia will then host games this weekend at Carlander Field which are currently scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Northern State (S.D.) (7-18, 1-3 NSIC) visits on Friday, March 28 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The Golden Bears wrap up the weekend against MSU Moorhead (8-23, 0-4 NSIC) on Saturday, March 29 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Concordia-St. Paul started 4-0 in NSIC play this weekend sweeping Bemidji State (14-14, 1-3 NSIC) and Minnesota Crookston (13-18, 1-3 NSIC). CSP picked up a six-inning 10-2 win and a five-inning 13-2 win over the Beavers. The Golden Bears then defeated Minnesota Crookston in five innings 13-4 and 7-3 in game two.
Alexis Monty led CSP on the weekend slashing .688/.688/1.125. She hit four doubles in six at-bats against Bemidji State. She then started the series against Crookston with a single and a home run in the opening inning. Monty led the team with 11 hits, eight runs scored and 18 total bases on the weekend.
Rachel Novak added seven hits with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs. Freshman Katie Klotz tallied six hits hitting a cycle on the weekend with a double, triple and two home runs. She batted in seven runs and scored herself five times.
Riley Rosenthal smacked six hits with two doubles and two home runs. Sydney Pelzer led the Golden Bears in RBIs with 10 via two home runs and a double. The senior's weekend was highlighted by a grand slam in the second game against Bemidji State.
With CSP trailing 3-1 in the final game of the weekend vs. Crookston, Bryleigh Dana smacked a 3RBI double with the bases loaded to take the lead. In the first game against the Golden Eagles, freshman Ella Arendt tallied her first career home run.
All three Concordia pitchers picked up victories over the weekend, led by freshman Tatum Dunlavy going 2-0. Erica McCullough grabbed her first victory of the season in game one, pitching a 2.80 ERA in five innings.
Emmy Bowne picked up a win against Crookston on day two. She tallied a season-high five strikeouts in five innings. Dunlavy totaled 12 innings pitched and picked up a seven-inning victory over UMC on day two with a season-high six strikeouts.
NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After her stellar performance, Monty earned NSIC Player of the Week. This is her fourth time winning the honor in her career and the first for a Golden Bear this season. Read more about it here.
SEASON LEADERS
Monty upped her averages to .406/.463/.615 after her performance this past week. She has a team-high 39 hits that include seven doubles, two triples and three home runs. The sophomore ranks fifth in the NSIC in total hits, eighth in batting average and 11th in slugging percentage.
Pelzer is slashing .361/.451/.699 during her senior campaign. She leads the Golden Bears in slugging percentage (.699), doubles (13) and home runs (five). Pelzer's 13 doubles lead the NSIC and are eighth in the nation. She also leads the team in RBIs with 31, ranking second in the NSIC.
Novak is third on the team slashing .295/.364/.449 with four doubles, a triple and a home run. The senior also has 13 RBIs. Ava Blake is slashing .270/.400/.311 with a double and a triple. Rosenthal is batting .256/.272/.384 with three doubles, a triple and two home runs.
Klotz and Dana each have three home runs on the year. Klotz has flour doubles with a triple. Dana has 19 RBIs with two doubles. Lily Burke has three doubles with nine RBIs.
Bowne leads the Golden Bears on the mound with a 3.79 ERA in 64.2 innings pitched. She's thrown a team-high 32 strikeouts. Dunlavy has a 4.57 ERA in 67.1 innings pitched. She has 28 strikeouts and a 6-5 record.
McCullough picked up her first win of the season this past weekend. She's pitched 28 innings with 10 strikeouts.
As a team, the Golden Bears have a .274 batting average, ranking 11th in the NSIC. CSP leads the conference with a .419 batting average in NSIC play. On the mound, CSP has a 4.23 ERA ranking 10th in the conference. CSP's 2.43 ERA in NSIC play ranks third.
Winona State - Wednesday, March 26 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Series Record: WSU 39, CSP 14
The Golden Bears were swept in last season's doubleheader against the Warriors. CSP's last win in 2023 ended a 17-game losing streak to Winona State. Concordia is 3-19 all-time on the road against Winona State.
Winona State went 19-6 in nonconference play, starting the season 9-0. The Warriors swept Minnesota Duluth (20-10, 0-2 NSIC) this past weekend before splitting with St. Cloud State (22-8, 1-1 NSIC) to start 3-1 in NSIC action.
The Warriors are led by senior Sam Keller slashing .440/.528/.747 with eight doubles, four triples and four home runs. Her batting average ranks fourth in the NSIC and she has the fourth-most hits in the conference with 40.
Sophomore infielder Indigo Fish is slashing .420/.459/.500 with five doubles and a triple. She's fifth in the NSIC in batting average and her 37 hits rank eighth. Junior Bryn Elsenpeter has a .352 batting average with six doubles and two home runs.
Tiegan Mancuso has a .333 batting average with three doubles. Kiley Slaats is batting .330 with four doubles and three triples. Freshman Braelee Jodarski is batting .326 with five doubles, a triple and 10 home runs. Jodarski is tied for the NSIC lead in home runs this season, hitting 10 on 29 total hits.
Junior Izzy Howe has a 1.84 ERA on the mound in 98.2 innings pitched. She has an 11-3 record and has thrown 102 strikeouts. Howe has thrown the second-most strikeouts of any pitcher in the NSIC this season.
Sophomore Jayda Berg has a 10-4 record with a 2.66 ERA in 87 innings pitched. She's thrown 36 strikeouts and has only walked two batters this season. That's the least amount of walks any NSIC pitcher has allowed this season. Berg is also allowing a .271 opposing batting average.
As a team, the Warriors are hitting .331 this season with 161 RBIs. Those totals are both second in the NSIC. Winona State has a team ERA of 2.39 which ranks sixth in the NSIC.
The Warriors are led by head coach Greg Jones who is in his 25th season with the Warriors. He has an overall record of 984-343-4 with a 426-103 record in conference play. Entering this season, Jones has the ninth-highest winning percentage all-time in Division II.
Northern State - Friday, March 28 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series Record: CSP 41, NSU 10
The Golden Bears have won six straight games against the Wolves. The Golden Bears are 9-1 in the last 10 games, with the lone loss in 2021. CSP is 16-4 all-time at home vs. Northern State.
The Wolves started 6-5 before losing 13 of the next 14 games. Northern State picked up a win over Minnesota State (19-11, 3-1 NSIC) this past weekend before being swept by No. 8 Augustana (S.D.) (22-6, 4-0 NSIC). Northern State lost, 1-0, in the first game against the Vikings.
Senior Avarie Eagle leads Northern State slashing .382/.382/.509. She has four doubles, a home run and nine RBIs this season. Freshman Aune Boben is slashing .359/.419/.603 with a team-high eight doubles and three home runs.
Freshman Dessa Bryant is batting .355 with six doubles and a triple. Junior catcher Emma Owens is slashing .323/.371/.446 with six doubles and a triple.
On the mound, senior Abby Rux leads the team with a 7.06 ERA in 74.1 innings. She's thrown 45 strikeouts this season. Rux is allowing an opposing .404 batting average. Boben is NSU's No. 2 pitcher with an 11.61 ERA in 38 innings.
The Wolves are 10th in the NSIC with a .275 team batting average and 15th in the conference with a team ERA of 7.67.
Head coach Haley Ness is in her first year coaching the program. Ness is the 12th head coach in program history and joined the Wolves after spending nine seasons at Chadron State (Neb.).
MSU Moorhead - Saturday, March 29 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series Record: CSP 43, MSUM 11
The Golden Bears are 7-3 in the last 10 matchups against the Dragons and have won 14 of the last 17 games against MSU Moorhead. CSP swept MSUM last season, but was swept two seasons ago in 2023's doubleheader. The Golden Bears are 15-2 all-time against the Dragons.
The Dragons enter this weekend after being swept this past weekend by Augustana and Minnesota State. MSU Moorhead won its final game of nonconference play against Nebraska Kearney.
Senior Avery Steffen leads MSU Moorhead slashing .379/.413/.524. She's smacked seven doubles, four triples and 10 RBIs this season. Steffen has the 11th-best batting average in the NSIC.
Annika Norman is slashing .366/.384/.484 during her senior campaign. She has seven doubles and two triples. Junior catcher Teagan Pranchke is batting .333 with 21 hits and a double. Eliya Johnson leads the team in home runs with three.
Sophomore Teagan Clemmons leads the Dragons on the mound with a 4.55 ERA in 64.2 innings. Clemmons has thrown 59 strikeouts this season and allowed an opposing .301 batting average. Steffen has a 4.90 ERA in 60 innings pitched with a team-high 62 strikeouts. She's allowed an opposing batting average of .284.
The Dragons are 13th in the NSIC with a team batting average of .270. They are also 13th on the mound with a 6.16 ERA.
Vanessa Kellems is in her first season as the head coach of the Dragons. She's the 17th head softball coach in program history. Kellems coached at the University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, California before coming to Moorhead.
