ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team is back in action on Tuesday against Minnesota State (24-12, 8-2 NSIC). The Golden Bears face the Mavericks in a doubleheader at 11 a.m. at the Maverick All-Sports Dome.

CSP will remain on the road this weekend against Minnesota Duluth (25-11, 5-3 NSIC) on Saturday and St. Cloud State (25-10, 4-3 NSIC) on Sunday. After a schedule change, the Golden Bears will face both teams at SCSU's Husky Dome. CSP is scheduled to play Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and then face St. Cloud State at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears went 4-2 last week getting swept by Winona State (28-7, 9-1 NSIC) but picked up wins over the weekend against Northern State (S.D.) (7-24, 1-9 NSIC) and MSU Moorhead (10-27, 2-8 NSIC). 

Sydney Pelzer led the Golden Bears on the week slashing .533/.579/1.000 with eight hits and nine RBIs. She smacked two home runs with a double. Rachel Novak slashed .412/.412/.529 with seven hits and two doubles. 

On the mound, Emmy Bowne led CSP with a 3.50 ERA and a 2-1 record. She tallied seven strikeouts in 16 innings pitched. 

In game one vs. Northern State, Pelzer smacked a walk-off RBI double in the seventh inning to win, 2-1. The senior then drilled a grand slam into left-center field in game two in the 10-1 win. 

Bowne and Erica McCullough combined for a 1.17 ERA and each picked up wins in the games. Bowne tied a season-high with five strikeouts. McCullough also threw a season-high five strikeouts in the game-two win. 

Pelzer smacked a two-run homer and finished with three RBIs in a 6-5 game one win over MSU Moorhead. The Golden Bears were outhit 7-4, but walked seven times to get offensive production. 

In game two, Alexis Monty hit a triple and Riley Rosenthal singled for the first run of the game. A few plays later, Bryleigh Dana knocked a home run for the 3-0 lead. The Golden Bears won the game, 4-1. 

Bowne pitched all seven innings in game two and did not allow an earned run. The sophomore only allowed four hits and did not walk a batter. She threw two strikeouts. 

SEASON LEADERS
Pelzer leads CSP slashing .388/.471/.745. She has 14 doubles and seven home runs this season. That's a season-high in home runs in her career and she's one double away from tying her most in a season. Her 14 doubles rank ninth in the country and lead the NSIC. 

The senior's .745 slugging percentage ranks fourth in the conference. She's tallied 40 RBIs this season ranking third in the NSIC. She is tied for fourth in the conference in home runs. 

Monty is slashing .386/.450/.588 with eight doubles, three triples and three home runs. She ranks 11th in the NSIC in batting average. Monty is tied for ninth in the conference in triples and 16th in doubles. 

Novak is slashing .316/.371/.463 with six doubles, a triple and two home runs. She's also stolen 15 bases. Ava Blake is slashing .281/.402/.315 with a double and a triple. Rosenthal is batting .248 and Dana is batting .247. Dana has smacked four homers this season. 

Bowne leads the Golden Bears with a 3.73 ERA in 80.2 innings pitched. She's 7-8 this season with a team-high 39 strikeouts. McCullough has a 4.28 ERA in 36 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts. Tatum Dunlavy has a 5.00 ERA in 78.1 innings pitched with 34 strikeouts. She's got a winning record this season at 7-5. 

The Golden Bears have a team batting average of .276, ranking ninth in the NSIC. CSP has a team ERA of 4.46 tying for 10th in the conference.

In NSIC play only, the Golden Bears are batting .347 which ties Minnesota State for second in the conference. Concordia has a 4.36 ERA in conference play ranking ninth. 

Minnesota State - Tuesday, April 1 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. 
Series Record: MSU 41, CSP 21

The Golden Bears are 4-6 in the last 10 matchups against the Mavericks. Concordia has won three out of the last four games, including a win earlier this season. CSP is 9-16 all-time on the road vs. Minnesota State. 

CSP opened the season competing against the Mavericks at the Scheels Tournament hosted by Minnesota State. The Golden Bears lost the opener, 7-3, but won the final game, 4-1. Pelzer had three hits including two doubles and an RBI and Dunlavy secured the win pitching all seven innings with three strikeouts. 

The Mavericks are 8-2 in NSIC play this season with a loss to Northern State and a loss to Minot State. Minnesota State has swept MSU Moorhead, Sioux Falls (S.D.) and UMary. The Mavericks' top win this season was a 3-2 victory over No. 13 Central Oklahoma. 

Freshman Finley Anderson has emerged onto the scene to lead the Mavericks slashing .446/.526/.923. She leads the NSIC in batting average and slugging percentage. Anderson has nine doubles, five triples and four home runs. 

Junior Gianna Lara is slashing .352/.427/.552 with nine doubles and four home runs. She's second on the team in hits with 37. Izzy Hycnar is slashing .341/.452/.440 with seven doubles and a triple. Anderson, Lara and Hycznar all lead the team with 23 RBIs. 

Marina Carter is batting .333 with two doubles, two triples and a homer. Cheyenne Behrends has a team-high 38 hits with seven doubles and a triple. Behrends is the only batter to appear in all 36 games for the Mavericks. 

The Mavericks have three solid pitchers led by sophomore Maddie Oetzmann with a 1.45 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched. She's thrown 38 strikeouts and has a 6-3 record. Brianne Stone has a 1.46 ERA in 52.2 innings pitched. The senior has thrown 39 strikeouts this season. 

Junior Sailor Hall has pitched the most innings for Minnesota State at 78.2. She's thrown 60 strikeouts ranking 14th in the NSIC. Hall has a 1.87 ERA and a 7-4 record this season. 

Minnesota State is batting .294 as a team, ranking fourth in the NSIC. The Mavericks have the second-best combined ERA in the conference at 1.97. 

Head coach Lori Meyer is in her 40th season with the Mavericks. She won the NCAA Division II National Championship with Minnesota State in 2017. She's won over 1,400 games with the Mavericks. 

Minnesota Duluth - Saturday, April 5 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Series Record: UMD 44, CSP 29

The Golden Bears are 2-8 in the last 10 matchups vs. the Bulldogs, sweeping the series last season. CSP lost two games earlier this season to the Bulldogs. The Golden Bears are 3-9 all-time on the road in Duluth. 

CSP lost 8-3 and 4-2 to the Bulldogs earlier this season. Concordia had an early lead in both games, but could not hold onto that lead in either contest. 

The Bulldogs are 5-3 in conference play after being swept by Winona State and splitting with Wayne State. UMD swept both Bemidji State and picked up an upset sweep over No. 10 Augustana. 

Senior Nicole Schmitt leads the Bulldogs slashing .426/.507/.774. She is second in the conference in batting average and slugging percentage. Schmitt has tallied eight doubles, a triple and 10 homers. She ranks second in the conference in home runs. 

Junior Morgan McMillan has a .371 batting average with nine doubles, two triples and three home runs. Junior Ava Johnson is batting .321 with a double and two home runs. Kendal Jenkins is batting .299 with eight doubles, a triple and five homers. 

Allyssa Williams is 11-6 on the mound in 93 innings pitched this season. She has a 2.56 ERA and 77 strikeouts on the year. Senior Allison Luoma has a 3.13 ERA and 9-3 record with 67 strikeouts in 87.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Maddy Walsh has a 4.53 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched. 

Minnesota Duluth's team batting average of .289 ranks seventh in the NSIC. They have a team ERA of 3.31, ranking eighth in the conference. 

The Bulldogs are led by head coach Nat Wagner in his first season with the team. Wagner spent two years as an assistant at St. Thomas and three years as the head coach of Minot State before coaching at Duluth. 

St. Cloud State - Sunday, April 6 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Series Record: CSP 28, SCSU 26

Concordia-St. Paul is 6-4 in the last 10 games against St. Cloud State. CSP lost four straight games before sweeping the Huskies last season. The Golden Bears are 15-13 all-time on the road vs. SCSU. 

The Huskies are 4-3 in conference play splitting with Winona State and Augustana. SCSU is Winona State's only loss in NSIC play so far. St. Cloud State swept Minnesota Crookston and lost to Wayne State this past weekend in one game after the second was rained out. 

Sophomore Brooke Holmes leads the Huskies slashing .425/.478/.675 with 51 hits on the year. She's tallied 10 doubles, a triple and six home runs with a team-high 31 RBIs. Holmes is fourth in the NSIC in batting average. 

Reese Holzhueter is slashing .388/.422/.562 with 12 doubles, three triples and a home run. Senior Maggie Fitzgerald is batting .347 with 10 doubles and two homers. Bethany Weiss is batting .336 with eight doubles, two triples and three homers. 

On the mound, junior Macey Clark has a 1.91 ERA in 102.2 innings pitched with 89 strikeouts. She's pitched the fifth-most innings in the NSIC and has the sixth-most strikeouts. Emma Eickhoff has a 2.40 ERA in 73 innings pitched with 60 strikeouts. 

The Huskies are second in the conference with a .321 batting average as a team this season. Their 36 home runs lead the NSIC this season. They have a 2.29 ERA as a team ranking fifth in the conference. 

Head coach Mitch Roberts is in his second season with the Huskies. Roberts led SCSU to 23 conference wins last season, which marked a program record. He has an overall record of 51-28 with the Huskies entering this week.