ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Golden Bear softball team (22-27, 14-10 NSIC) closes out the season this weekend against Sioux Falls (S.D.) (21-25, 9-15 NSIC) and Wayne State (Neb.) (29-20, 13-10 NSIC). Both doubleheaders are scheduled for a noon start at Carlander Field. 

Saturday's game against Sioux Falls will be Senior Day for Concordia-St. Paul. Seniors Avery Johnson, Erica McCullough, Morgan Medlo, Rachel Novak and Sydney Pelzer will be honored before the game. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears were swept by No. 11 Augustana (41-9, 23-3 NSIC) before splitting with Southwest Minnesota State (29-23, 11-15 NSIC) this past weekend. Katie Klotz led CSP with four hits and two RBIs on the weekend, all against SMSU. 

The Augustana series was highlighted by a solo home run from Ella Arendt in game one. This marked the freshman's third home run of the season. 

CSP used a six-run third inning to get a 7-3 victory over the Mustangs on Sunday in game two. It was a team effort for the Golden Bears going through the entire lineup in the inning. CSP used five single, a walk and an error to score the six runs. 

McCullough pitched a complete game in the victory. She allowed six hits, two walks and two earned runs while adding two strikeouts. 

SEASON LEADERS
Pelzer continues to lead the team slashing .383/.458/.752 with 16 doubles and 12 home runs. She is ninth in the conference in batting average, seventh in on-base percentage and second in slugging percentage. She's third in both home runs and doubles. 

Pelzer's 54 RBIs rank second in the NSIC. She's 17th in the nation in RBIs and 36th in RBIs per game. The senior is 27th in the nation in doubles and 38th in home runs. 

Alexis Monty is slashing .335/.395/.532 with 10 doubles, three triples and five home runs. She's only struck out six times this season. The sophomore has stolen a team-high 20 bases this season and added 26 RBIs. 

Novak is third on the team slashing .309/.462/.449 with eight doubles, a triple and three home runs. Ava Blake is slashing .296/.401/.328, giving her the second-best on-base percentage on the team. 

Riley Rosenthal has a .253 batting average with five doubles, two triples and three home runs. Bryleigh Dana is batting .252 with six doubles, five homers and 25 RBIs. Klotz is batting .242 with six doubles and three home runs. Lily Burke has a .237 batting average with three doubles, two triples and a home run. 

Sophomore pitcher Emmy Bowne leads the Golden Bears with a 3.68 ERA in 114 innings pitched. She's pitched eight complete games with three shutouts. Bowne has thrown 49 strikeouts this season while allowing a team-best .282 batting average. 

McCullough has a 4.56 ERA in 66 innings pitched. She's thrown 43 strikeouts and has tallied three complete games this season. 

Tatum Dunlavy has a 5.30 ERA and a team-best 10-8 record in 24 appearances on the mound. She's pitched 103 innings this season and is tied with Bowne for the team lead in strikeouts at 49. The freshman has also pitched a team-high 10 complete games. 

The Golden Bears are batting .271 as a team, ranking 11th in the NSIC. CSP's .414 slugging percentage ranks seventh. Concordia has a 4.61 team ERA ranking 10th in the conference. 

RECORD WATCH
With an RBI this past weekend, Pelzer broke the program's single-season record for RBIs at 54. She surpassed Bekah Roth in 2014 with 53. Pelzer is the all-time career leader for CSP with 159 RBIs. 

The senior's .752 slugging percentage currently ranks second in a single season behind Sami Mattson's .763 in 2011. Her 12 home runs are tied with Clara Heislen for the third-most in a season and her 16 doubles are tied for the fifth-most in a season. Pelzer's 50 career doubles are tied for the second-most in program history with Anna Bjorlin from 2007-10 and one behind the school record at 51 by Amanda Yurek in 2004-07. 

McCullough's 46 career wins are tied for fifth in program history. Monty is slashing .414/.469/.614 in her career, currently marking the highest in each average by a Golden Bear. Novak's .884 career stolen base percentage ranks ninth in program history. 

IN THE NSIC STANDINGS
The Golden Bear softball team enters the weekend in seventh in the conference standings with a 14-10 record. CSP is in a tight race with No. 4 St. Cloud State (15-8), No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (14-8), No. 6 Minot State (15-9) and No. 8 Wayne State (13-10). CSP has clinched a spot in the NSIC Tournament. 

Augustana has clinched a share of the NSIC Championship with a 23-3 conference record. Minnesota State at 19-5 can also share the regular season title with wins this weekend. Winona State is in third with a 17-7 conference record. 

The top six teams receive a first-round bye in the 10-team NSIC Tournament. The No. 7 seed will play the No. 10 seed and the No. 8 seed will play the No. 9 seed in the first round. 

Sioux Falls - Saturday, April 26 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. 
Series Record: USF 14, CSP 9

Concordia-St. Paul is 6-4 in the last 10 matchups against the Cougars. Sioux Falls won six straight from 2016-18. CSP is 1-3 all-time at home against Sioux Falls. 

USF enters this weekend on an eight-game losing streak to Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth and Wayne State. 

Freshman Savanna Isaacson leads the Cougars slashing .378/.405/.615 with 14 doubles, four triples and four home runs. She is 10th in the NSIC in batting average and slugging percentage. Isaacson leads the team in RBIs with 31.  

Sophomore Morgan Linstad is slashing .355/.438/.486 with six doubles and two home runs. She has six doubles and two home runs. Junior Jaeleigh Darnell is slashing .338/.462/.639 with eight doubles and five homers. Darnell's slugging percentage leads the Cougars and ranks eighth in the NSIC. 

Kyra Knudtson is batting .333 with nine doubles and two home runs. Freshman Hanna Raethz is batting .306 with four doubles. Meghan Jochimsen has a .300 batting average with nine doubles and five triples. 

Junior Maddi Duncan leads Sioux Falls on the mound with a 2.63 ERA in 137 innings pitched. She's thrown 156 strikeouts this season, ranking third in the conference. Duncan has a 14-9 record this season pitching 15 complete games and five shutouts. 

Lauryn Foundree has an 8.46 ERA in 83 innings pitched with a 6-9 record. The junior has thrown 50 strikeouts this season. Sophomore Hannah Strickland has an 8.03 ERA in 23 appearances and 40.1 innings pitched. 

The Cougars are fifth in the NSIC in batting with a .300 team average. They rank 12th in pitching with a 4.88 team ERA. 

Sioux Falls is led by Interim Head Coach Madie Brink. She was named the interim head coach on March 13. The Cougars are 9-15 under Brink this season. 

Wayne State - Sunday, April 27 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Series Record: CSP 32, WSC 22

The Golden Bears have won seven straight games over the Wildcats and 13 of the last 14 with the only loss in 2021. WSC won 11 of 12 games from 2007-11. Between both teams, there have been seven different winning streaks of five or more games. CSP is 9-5 all-time at home vs. WSC. 

The Wildcats enter this weekend after going 4-2 against Minnesota State, Sioux Falls and Northwest Missouri State. Wayne State has a doubleheader against Winona State on Saturday before facing CSP on Sunday. 

Sophomore Emilee Marth leads the Wildcats slashing .342/.420/.534 with 16 doubles and four home runs. Leah Chance is batting .327 with 12 doubles and 14 RBIs. Sophomore Jordyn Klein is batting .316 with six doubles and three triples. 

Freshman Maddie Scobee leads the team in home runs with seven this season. She also leads the team in RBIs with 33. Senior Hayler Murphy is batting .317 with five doubles and four homers. Murphy has only appeared in 32 out of 49 games this season. 

The Wildcats use four different pitchers on the mound. Freshman Kennadi Borngrebe leads the team with a 2.14 ERA in 117.2 innings pitched. She's thrown 139 strikeouts this season, which is fifth in the NSIC. 

Taylor Coleman has a 2.59 ERA in 75.2 innings pitched with 90 strikeouts. Grace Lucka has a 2.64 ERA in 69 innings pitched with 85 strikeouts. Samantha Felt has a 2.26 ERA in 65 innings pitched with 34 strikeouts. 

Wayne State ranks eighth in the NSIC in batting average at .277. They are sixth in team ERA at 2.45. 

Christy Warnock is in her third season coaching the Wildcats. She has a 50-99 record with the Wildcats entering this weekend.