ST. PAUL, Minn. - Easter weekend features a pair of doubleheaders for the Concordia-St. Paul softball team (21-24, 13-7 NSIC). The Golden Bears face No. 12 Augustana (S.D.) (37-9, 19-3 NSIC) on Friday and Southwest Minnesota State (28-20, 10-12 NSIC) on Saturday.
The doubleheader against the NSIC-leading Vikings is scheduled for noon at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. CSP will then travel to Marshall to face SMSU at Mustang Field at noon on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears went 4-0 last weekend against UMary (N.D.) (9-36, 2-18 NSIC) and Minot State (N.D.) (25-18, 13-7 NSIC). The wins over Minot State helped CSP tie the Beavers in fifth in the conference standings.
Sydney Pelzer led the Golden Bears slashing .545/.615/1.727 with eight RBIs and a home run in each of the four games. She hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning against Minot State in the first game.
The Golden Bears got another walk-off home run in game two, this time from junior Riley Rosenthal. Alexis Monty also added two solo homers in game two, including a game-tying home run in the fifth inning.
In the first game against the Marauders, sophomore Emmy Bowne pitched a one-hit game in the 4-0 victory. She only threw 65 pitches in the first game against UMary.
Ella Arendt highlighted game two with a three-run homer in the opening inning and Pelzer added a two-run homer. The Golden Bears won 7-3 with Tatum Dunlavy pitching a complete game on the mound with six strikeouts.
Senior Erica McCullough highlighted the Minot series on the mound with a nine-strikeout outing in game one. That marked a season-high for her. Bowne and Dunlavy combined on the mound in game two to get the win.
NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Pelzer earned NSIC Player of the Week following her extraordinary weekend of play for the Golden Bears. This was the first time she had won the award in her career and marked the second time a CSP player has won it this season (Monty).
SEASON LEADERS
Pelzer leads the Golden Bears slashing .402/.481/.803 with 15 doubles and 12 home runs. In the NSIC, she's ranked fifth in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage and second in slugging percentage. In conference-only play, she leads the NSIC with a .982 slugging percentage.
Her 12 home runs rank third in the conference, her 15 doubles and 53 RBIs both rank second. She ranks 14th nationally in RBIs and 24th in doubles.
Monty is slashing .356/.415/.568 with 10 doubles, three triples and five home runs. She also has 26 RBIs. She ranks 19th in batting average and 22nd in doubles in the NSIC.
Rachel Novak is slashing .317/.370/.472 with eight doubles, one triple and three home runs. She has stolen a team-high 19 bases, tying for fourth in the NSIC. Ava Blake is slashing .307/.419/.342 with two doubles and a triple.
Rosenthal has five doubles, two triples and three home runs this season. Bryleigh Dana has added six doubles and five home runs. Katie Klotz has smacked six doubles, a triple and three home runs.
On the mound, Bowne leads CSP with a 3.57 ERA in 106 innings pitched. She's thrown 47 strikeouts and has allowed an opposing batting average of .377. The sophomore has an 8-9 record this season and a team-high three shutouts.
McCullough has a 4.50 ERA in 56 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts. Dunlavy has a team-best 10-7 record with a 5.05 ERA. She's totaled a team-high 49 strikeouts in 97 innings pitched.
As a team, the Golden Bears are batting .275 this season, tying for ninth in the NSIC. CSP has a team ERA of 4.48, also ranking ninth. In conference play only, Concordia has a .309 batting average ranking fourth. The Golden Bears also have a 4.46 ERA in NSIC play, ranking eighth.
RECORD WATCH
Pelzer's 53 RBIs are tied for the most in a season in program history. Her current .803 slugging percentage is the highest in program history above Sami Mattson's .763 in 2011. Pelzer currently has 25 fewer at-bats than Mattson had that season.
The senior's 12 home runs are tied with Clara Heislen in 2022 and 2023 for the third-most in program history. Mattson has the school record with 19 in 2011. In a season, Pelzer also currently has the fifth-best on-base percentage, 11th-highest batting average and tied for the 12th most sacrifice flies.
Pelzer already owns the career school records in RBIs (158) and sacrifices flies (19). She's third in career doubles with 49 one behind Anna Bjorlin (2007-10) and two behind Amanda Yurek (2004-07). Her 23 career home runs rank sixth.
In a career, Monty currently has the highest batting average (.427), slugging percentage (.623) and on-base percentage (.481). She's tied for the 15th most doubles in a career with 32.
Novak is tied for 14th for the most stolen bases in a career (38). McCullough has the eighth-most strikeouts in a career (297) and sixth-most wins (45). Rosenthal is tied for sixth in a career with eight triples.
IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
The Golden Bears enter the weekend tied for fifth with Minot State and two wins ahead of Minnesota Duluth (31-15, 11-7 NSIC). Wayne State (Neb.) (25-18, 10-9 NSIC) is two games behind in eighth.
Augustana leads the NSIC by one game over Minnesota State (34-14, 18-4 NSIC). Winona State (34-11, 15-5 NSIC) is in third and St. Cloud State (34-12, 13-6 NSIC) is in fourth.
Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend in ninth place and Sioux Falls (S.D.) (21-23, 9-13 NSIC) currently would take the final spot in the conference tournament in 10th. MSU Moorhead (14-33, 6-14 NSIC) is the first team out in 11th.
No. 12 Augustana - Friday, April 18 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series Record: AU 35, CSP 8
The Golden Bears have lost three straight games to the Vikings, winning game two of the doubleheader in 2023. CSP is 2-8 in the last 10 matchups. The Vikings won 19 straight games from 2010 to 2018.
The reigning NSIC Champion Vikings enter this weekend on a 12-game winning streak. Augustana's split a doubleheader against St. Cloud State and were swept by Minnesota Duluth for the only conference losses. This weekend starts play against three of the top six teams as the Vikings face Winona State and Minnesota State after this doubleheader with CSP.
Sophomore Desi Cuevas leads Augustana slashing .384/.439/.714 with 15 doubles and 10 home runs. She ranks 11th in batting average and fifth in slugging percentage in the conference. She also has 39 RBIs this season.
Junior Andrea Cain is slashing .360/.476/.712 with 13 doubles, six triples and eight home runs. She's tallied 31 RBIs this season. Cain is 15th in batting average and sixth in slugging percentage in the NSIC.
Senior Stella Harber is slashing .346/.364/.579 with four doubles and seven home runs. Ashton Dorman is slashing .333/.374/.511 with 11 doubles and four home runs during her junior campaign. Senior Liz Dierks has a .328 batting average with four doubles and a homer.
Seniors Grace Glanzer and Lexi Lander are an excellent dynamic duo on the mound for the Vikings. Glanzer has a 1.23 ERA in 153.2 innings pitched. She's thrown an NSIC-leading 170 strikeouts, which is 12th in the nation.
Lander has a 1.48 ERA in 109 innings pitched with 110 strikeouts. She ranks sixth in the NSIC in strikeouts and 73rd in the nation. Glanzer has an 18-6 record and Lander has a 16-3 record.
Augustana is third in the NSIC with a .309 team batting average. They lead the conference in pitching with a 1.38 ERA. In conference-only play, the Vikings are second with a .339 batting average and lead in pitching with a 1.20 ERA.
Head coach Gretta Melsted is in her 19th season leading Augustana, leading the Vikings to a National Championship in 2019. She has a career record of 850-372 entering this weekend.
Southwest Minnesota State - Saturday, April 19 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series Record: SMSU 32, CSP 28
Concordia has split with the Mustangs in the last four doubleheaders, with a 6-4 record in the last 10 matchups. SMSU won eight straight from 2007-09 while CSP's longest win streak is three games three separate times. Concordia is 13-11 all-time on the road in Marshall.
The Mustangs were 18-8 in nonconference play, but then started 4-12 in NSIC play. SMSU is back on track now, winning its last six games against Sioux Falls, MSU Moorhead and Northern State (S.D.). Southwest Minnesota State faces Winona State on Friday before CSP on Saturday.
Junior Riley Kramolisch leads the Mustangs slashing .361/.391/.391 with three doubles and a triple. She has not hit a home run this season. Senior Abby Russell is slashing .344/.400/.425 with a team-high six doubles. She also has two triples, a home run and 27 RBIs.
Senior Abby Boxrud is slashing .321/.397/.343 with three doubles. Emma Humpal is batting .313 with five doubles and a triple. Brynn Webber is hitting .307 with two doubles and a triple. Lexi Ingalls leads the team in doubles with eight and triples with four. The Mustangs only have three home runs as a team this season.
Freshman Jordyn Marsh leads the Mustangs in ERA at 3.03 in 77.1 innings pitched with 84 strikeouts. She only has one start this season.
Senior Karlie Miller has pitched the most innings for the Mustangs at 137.1. She has a 12-9 record with a 3.47 ERA and a team-high 94 strikeouts. Miller ranks 11th in the conference in strikeouts. The senior has thrown a team-high 16 games.
Senior Morgyn Otte has a 4.05 ERA in 97.2 innings pitched. She has a 10-8 record and has thrown 65 strikeouts.
SMSU's .294 team batting average and 2.82 ERA each rank seventh in the conference. In NSIC play only the Mustangs are also seventh with a .293 batting average and a 3.43 ERA.
Bailey Bouman is the head coach for Southwest Minnesota State. She is in her seventh season with the Mustangs with a 140-168 record entering this weekend.
