ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Golden Bear softball team (17-24, 9-7 NSIC) hosts UMary (N.D.) (9-32, 2-14 NSIC) and Minot State (N.D.) (23-16, 11-5 NSIC) in doubleheaders this weekend. CSP plays the Marauders on Saturday and the Beavers on Sunday, both starting at noon.

LAST TIME OUT
CSP went 1-5 last week getting swept by Minnesota State (31-13, 15-3 NSIC) and St. Cloud State (32-11, 11-4 NSIC) while splitting with Minnesota Duluth (28-14, 8-6 NSIC). The Golden Bears defeated the Bulldogs in a 7-5 eight-inning victory in game one. 

Rachel Novak smacked the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning for CSP. Sydney Pelzer had a 2RBI single while Bryleigh Dana, Ava Blake and Lily Burke each had two hits. Tatum Dunlavy and Erica McCullough each pitched four innings, with McCullough throwing a season-high eight strikeouts. 

On the week, Blake and Pelzer each led the Golden Bears with seven hits. Pelzer tallied five RBIs and hit a home run in game one vs. SCSU. Burke, Dana and Novak each tallied five hits. Emmy Bowne led CSP on the mound with a 4.08 ERA. 

SEASON LEADERS
Pelzer leads the Golden Bears slashing .388/.468/.716, all of which are career-best marks for the senior. She has 14 doubles, one short of a career-best, and eight home runs, which marks a career-best. Pelzer is eighth in the NSIC in batting average, sixth in on-base average and third in slugging percentage. 

The senior has 45 RBIs this season, which ranks third in the NSIC and 24th in the nation. It's also the fourth-most in a single season in program history. Pelzer is three away from tying her career-high in RBIs in 2022 for third and the most in a season is 53 by Bekah Roth in 2014. 

Alexis Monty is slashing .348/.409/.523 with eight doubles, three triples and three home runs. She leads CSP with 18 stolen bases, which is fifth in the conference. She leads the team in total hits with 46. 

Novak is slashing .313/.366/.473 which includes seven doubles, a triple and three homers. Blake is batting .302 with two doubles and a triple. She has the third-best on-base percentage on the team at .408. 

Dana has a .255 batting average and .451 slugging percentage with five doubles and five home runs. Burke is slashing .244/.366/.333, Rosenthal is slashing .240/.258/.352 and Klotz is slashing .231/.278/.379. 

Bowne leads the Golden Bears with a 3.78 ERA in 92.2 innings pitched. She's thrown a team-high 44 strikeouts and has a 7-9 record. Erica McCullough has a 4.91 ERA in 47 innings pitched. The senior has thrown 30 strikeouts this season. 

Freshman Tatum Dunlavy has a team-best 8-7 record in 16 starts with 89.1 innings pitched. She's totaled 32 strikeouts this season and has a 5.25 ERA. 

The Golden Bears have a team batting average of .271, tying for 12th in the NSIC. CSP is tied for 10th in pitching with a 4.74 team ERA. 

IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
The Golden Bears enter this weekend seventh in the NSIC standings. CSP is behind Minnesota Duluth in sixth and ahead of Wayne State (Neb.) (23-16, 8-7 NSIC) in eighth. Sioux Falls (S.D.) (21-19) is in ninth.

No. 14 Augustana (S.D.) (33-9, 15-3) and Minnesota State (31-13, 15-3 NSIC) are tied for first place. The Vikings have won eight straight games. Winona State (32-9, 13-3 NSIC) is in third place. St. Cloud State is in fourth and Minot State is in fifth. 

UMARY - Saturday, April 12 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. 
Series Record: CSP 26, UMARY 15

The Golden Bears have won 13 straight games against UMary dating back to 2017. Before then, CSP had lost nine straight to the Marauders. Concordia is 9-4 all-time at home vs. UMary. 

The Marauders enter this weekend on a 12-game losing streak. Their two NSIC wins came in series splits against Sioux Falls and Wayne State. They were recently swept by Northern State (S.D.) (10-29, 4-14 NSIC) on Wednesday. 

Freshman Madison Hunter leads UMary slashing .346/.402/.457 with a double, triple and two home runs. She ranks 23rd in the NSIC in batting average. Junior Janelle Bergmann is slashing .330/.343/.619 with seven doubles, three triples and five home runs. She has the ninth-best slugging percentage in the NSIC.

Senior Ariana Retuta has a .319 batting average with five doubles, a triple and a home run. Sariah Perez has a .280 batting average with six doubles and three home runs. Freshman Genevieve Hastings has five doubles and two home runs. 

Freshman Elyssa Verploegen has pitched the most innings for the Marauders this season with 75.1. She's thrown a team-high 48 strikeouts and has an 8.96 ERA. Sophomore Arria Johnson has a 6.89 ERA in 49.2 innings pitched. 

UMary's .274 team batting average is tied for eighth in the NSIC. The Marauders' 7.46 team ERA is at the bottom of the conference in 15th.

Head coach Amy Schmeckpeper is in her second season with the Marauders. She is the ninth head coach in program history. Schmeckpeper has a 19-70 record at UMary. 

Minot State - Sunday, April 13 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series Record: MiSU 16, CSP 8

The Beavers have won three straight matchups against the Golden Bears after sweeping last year's series and then defeating CSP in the NSIC tournament. Concordia entered last season winning five of the last six against Minot. The Golden Bears are 3-5 all-time at home vs. the Beavers. 

Minot State enters this weekend after sweeping MSU Moorhead (14-31, 6-12 NSIC) on Wednesday. Before that, the Beavers were on a three-game losing streak after losing to Augustana and splitting with Northern State. 

Junior Anna LaCount is slashing .376/.425/.573 with eight doubles, five home runs and a team-high 23 RBIs. Taylor Smith is slashing .345/.393/.593 with six doubles, five triples and four homers. Smith ranks 12th and LaCount ranks 18th in the NSIC in slugging percentage. 

Sara Van Wickler is slashing .339/.392/.589 with nine doubles, five triples and three home runs. Her slugging percentage ranks 13th in the NSIC. Paige Kellogg is batting .307 and is a doubles machine with a team-high 12. Freshman Sarah Misner has a .293 batting average with four home runs. 

The Beavers are led by the senior dynamic duo on the mound of Reegan Floyd and Jasmine Blizzard. Floyd has a 1.87 ERA in 112.1 innings pitched with 92 strikeouts. She ranks seventh in the NSIC in ERA and ninth in total strikeouts. 

Blizzard has a 1.92 ERA in 98.2 innings pitched with 64 strikeouts. She ranks eighth in the conference in ERA. Floyd has a 12-5 record and Blizzard has a 9-7 record this season. 

The Beavers' .266 batting average ranks 14th in the NSIC. Their .402 slugging percentage is ninth in the conference. Minot State has a team ERA of 2.25, ranking third in the NSIC. 

Head coach Sal Rodriguez is in his second season with the Beavers after briefly serving as an interim in 2023. He has a 51-37 record as the head coach of Minot State.