ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Golden Bear softball team (14-19, 6-2 NSIC) swept Northern State (S.D.) (7-22, 1-7 NSIC) on Friday afternoon, 2-1 and 10-1. Senior Sydney Pelzer hit the walk-off RBI double in game one and smacked a grand slam in game two.

Pelzer finished the day going 4-6 with six RBIs. Senior Rachel Novak was 2-5 with two doubles. Novak hit a game-tying RBI double in game one. 

Emmy Bowne and Erica McCullough combined on the mound for a 1.17 ERA. Bowne pitched the first game allowing one earned run on seven hits and tied a season-high with five strikeouts. This improved her record to 6-8 and marked her fifth complete game of the season pitching seven innings. 

McCullough allowed one earned run on three hits in five innings. She tallied a season-high five strikeouts picking up her second win of the season. The senior led the Golden Bears to their sixth five-inning win of the season. 

Ava Blake, Ella Arendt, Katie Klotz and Alexis Monty each tallied two hits on the day. Arendt smacked a double and Monty added two RBIs in game two. Bryleigh Dana added an RBI double to tie the game in game two. 

The Golden Bears are back in action on Saturday against MSU Moorhead (10-25, 2-6 NSIC). After a slight time change, the doubleheader games are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. at Carlander Field. 

Game One
With a full count on the first at-bat of the game, NSU's Aune Boben smacked a home run into left field for the first run of the game. The Wolves loaded the bases later in the inning, but Emma Owens popped up to Novak at first base. Novak then made a heads-up play throwing to Rosenthal at first base for the double play and third out after the NSU runner failed to tag up. 

The Golden Bears finally struck back with two outs in the bottom of the third. Dana battled for a walk and Novak smacked a hit off the wall in center field for an RBI double, tying the game at 1-1. 

Northern State had runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings but could not find home plate. Novak's hit was the last for the Golden Bears until Rosenthal hit a two-out single in the seventh inning. 

With Rosenthal on first, Pelzer smacked a laser down the left-field line. Rosenthal went all the way around the bases giving Pelzer the walk-off RBI double to win, 2-1. 

Pelzer finished with a team-high two hits and an RBI. Rosentahl, Novak, Klotz and Blake each tallied a hit. Bowne picked up the win on the mound to improve her record to 6-8. She didn't allow a run after the opening at-bat and tied her season-high striking out five batters. 

The Wolves were led by Tevan Bryant going 3-4. Madi Jones also tallied two hits with a double. Boben's lone hit was the solo homer. Abby Rux picked up the loss on the mound allowing six hits and two earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched. Rux walked two batters and threw one strikeout. 

Northern State finished the game outhitting the Golden Bears, 7-6. CSP committed four errors while the Wolves had one error. Northern State left 10 runners on base while CSP left seven on base. 

Game Two
The Wolves struck first again in game two. After two walks to start the game, Tevan Bryant hit an RBI single to left field for the early 1-0 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Pelzer singled and Dana hit an RBI double to tie the game at 1-1. 

The Golden Bears loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning with singles by Klotz and Arendt while Blake was hit by pitch. Lily Burke walked in the first run for the 2-1 lead. After that, Monty hit an RBI single to left field, extending the lead to 3-1. 

Pelzer then hit the bases-clearing play with a grand slam to left-center field to give the Golden Bears a 7-1 advantage. This is Pelzer's second grand slam of the season after hitting one last weekend against Bemidji State. 

Blake singled and Arendt doubled down the left-field line to start the bottom of the third inning. With runners on second and third, Monty bunted for a single bringing in Blake for the eighth run. Arendt then scored on the play after an error by the NSU third baseman. 

On the next at-bat, Rylie Rasmussen singled to bring Monty to third. Pelzer then added her sixth RBI on a sacrifice fly to left field, giving the Golden Bears the 10-1 lead. 

The Wolves threatened to keep the game alive with Emma Owens hitting a leadoff double. With her on third, the Wolves attempted to hit a sacrifice fly but were unsuccessful after failing to tag up once again, giving CSP a double play. The Golden Bears later got the last out on a groundout to first base. 

Pelzer batted 2-2 with five RBIs. Monty was 2-3 with two RBIs. Arendt tallied two hits including a double and scored a run. Novak and Dana each tallied doubles. 

McCullough pitched all five innings allowing three hits, an earned run and two walks. She threw a season-high five strikeouts in the contest. Northern State did not reach in the second, third or fourth innings with her on the mound. 

Boben picked up the loss for the Wolves on the mound. She allowed seven earned runs on six hits in 1.1 innings. Dessa Bryant played in relief allowing six hits and two earned runs. She also tallied three strikeouts. 

CSP outhit NSU 12-3 and the Wolves committed the only two errors of the game.