MARSHALL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (22-27, 14-10 NSIC) split with Southwest Minnesota State (29-23, 11-15 NSIC) on Saturday. Concordia fell in game one, 5-3, before winning, 7-3, in game two. 

Freshman Katie Klotz led the Golden Bears with four hits, a walk and two RBIs. Rachel Novak and Bryleigh Dana each added three hits and an RBI. Ava Blake, Riley Rosenthal and Sydney Pelzer each had two hits. Pelzer had the only extra-base hit for CSP with a double in game two. 

Senior Erica McCullough got the win pitching a complete game in game two. She allowed two earned runs on six hits and two walks. McCullough threw two strikeouts and allowed an opposing .250 batting average. 

With the win, the Golden Bears clinch a spot in the 10-team NSIC Tournament. CSP ends this weekend in seventh place one game behind Minot State (N.D.) (27-20, 15-9 NSIC) and two losses behind Minnesota Duluth in sixth place (34-16, 14-8 NSIC). 

Concordia-St. Paul is in action next weekend for a pair of NSIC doubleheaders. The Golden Bears host Sioux Falls (S.D.) (21-25, 9-15 NSIC) for senior day at noon on Saturday, April 26. CSP finishes the regular season against Wayne State (Neb.) (28-19, 13-10 NSIC) at noon on Sunday, April 27. 

Game One
The Mustangs scored two runs in both the first and second innings via four singles and a double. This gave SMSU an early four-run advantage. 

The Golden Bears got on the board in the fourth inning. Novak singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Klotz hit an RBI single to center, cutting the lead to 4-1. 

Southwest Minnesota State added a run on an RBI triple in the fifth inning. The Golden Bears matched that in the sixth on singles by Pelzer, Novak and Klotz. This gave Klotz her second RBI of the game. 

The Golden Bears had one last chance to rally in the seventh inning. Lily Burke walked and Alexis Monty reached on an error. A Rosenthal single into center field cut the lead to 5-3 with no outs in the inning. 

Novak battled five foul balls in an at-bat to walk and load the bases with two outs. This brought Klotz up to the plate, who hit a fielder's choice to second to end the game. 

Klotz and Novak each tallied two hits. Blake, Pelzer and Rosenthal had the remaining three for CSP. The Mustangs outhit the Golden Bears 10-7 while also committing the only two errors of the contest. Both teams left nine runners on base. 

Emmy Bowne took the loss for CSP after starting the game. She pitched three innings allowing four earned runs on six hits and two walks. Tatum Dunlavy entered in relief pitching the final three innings. She allowed one earned run on four hits and two walks. 

Game Two
In the second contest, the Golden Bears struck first. After Rosenthal singled and stole second, Pelzer doubled down the left field line to bring in the first run. This was CSP's only extra-base hit of the day. 

CSP exploded in the third, led off by a Monty single and Rosenthal reaching on a fielding error. Dana and Novak singled to bring Monty and Rosenthal home. After Klotz walked to load the bases, Blake hit a 2RBI single up the middle. Burke finished the scoring with an RBI single to give Concordia a 6-0 lead. 

McCullough did not allow a hit in the first three innings while only having one batter reach on a hit-by-pitch. The Mustangs finally scored in the fourth via a walk, single and a passed ball. 

The Golden Bears scored their seventh and final run in the final inning. Novak reached on a fielding error, Klotz singled and Emily Knoblauch brought in the run on a groundout. The Mustangs scored two runs in the final inning with a walk and three consecutive singles. A groundout to Pelzer secured the victory, 7-3. 

Dana led the Golden Bears with three hits and an RBI. Klotz had two hits with a walk and scored a run. Blake had a hit and two RBIs.

McCullough picked up her fourth win of the season pitching a complete game allowing six hits, two walks and two earned runs. She led Concordia on the day in strikeouts with two. 

The Golden Bears outhit the Mustangs 11-6. SMSU had three errors while CSP had one. Concordia left eight on base while Southwest Minnesota State left five.