ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (29-24, 18-12 NSIC) capped off the regular season with a split against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (30-23, 15-15 NSIC). Senior Danni Sharum stayed hot, swatting three home runs, including two in game two, launching a three-run bomb to left to put the finishing touches on a 12-4 CSP win in five innings.
CSP dropped a closely contested game one 9-7, battling back from a 7-2 deficit to tie the game at seven in the bottom of the fifth, before the Bulldogs took the lead on a go-ahead two run homer in the top of the seventh to take game one.
Sharum put together a 4-7 afternoon, belting three home runs to put the finishing touches on a 7-13 weekend, where she clubbed four home runs and drove in 10 runs. Her first homer of the afternoon was the 25th of her career, adding on two more to bring her career total to 27, which is good for sixth in program history.
Her recent power surge now puts her OPS at 1.086 with a .346/.472/.614 slash line.
Alexis Monty went 1-4 out of the leadoff spot in game one, extending her hit streak to an even ten games before going 0-3 with a walk and run scored in game two. Monty reached a milestone as well this weekend recording the 200th hit of her career with a leadoff single to right in game one. She is the 12th Golden Bear in program history to surpass the 200 hit mark.
The Golden Bears will now await the release of the bracket to see where they fall in the NSIC Tournament as they finished the season tied with Minot State for sixth place at 18-12.
Game One: CSP 7, UMD 9
UMD grabbed an early lead in game one with a solo homer to right in the top of the first inning. CSP got to work in the bottom of the first, starting with an Alexis Monty leadoff single, followed by Ava Blake and Riley Rosenthal reaching on a fielder's choice.
With one on and two out, Danni Sharum stepped to the plate and belted a two-run homer to right center, her eighth of the season, to put the Golden Bears in front, 2-1.
Emmy Bowne tossed a scoreless frame in the top of the second, before a one out single to right and a steal of second put UMD in scoring position in the third.
Ava Johnson lofted a fly ball to deep right and Ashlyn Peterson made a diving catch at the wall to secure the out, but Daphne Evans hustled home from second on the play to tie the game at two on a sacrifice fly.
Duluth plated two more on an RBI single up the middle in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. The Bulldogs continued to add on striking for three in the fifth on a Taylot Dawyduk three-run bomb to right to take a 7-2 lead.
A Riley Rosenthal bunt single, Danni Sharum walk and Bryleigh Dana single put two on with two out in the fifth. Nora Brandt came up with a clutch two out, two RBI single to left center to make it 7-4, before the pitcher Tatum Dunlavy lined a two RBI double to right center to get CSP back within one.
Lily Burke shot another RBI double to right center to tie the game at seven apiece.
Abi Carter came on in relief of Dunlavy and tossed a scoreless top of the sixth with one strikeout. With the game tied in the top of the seventh a leadoff single put the tying run on for UMD.
Taylor Dawyduk launched her second homer of the game to put the Bulldogs in front, as UMD took game one, 9-7.
Game Two: CSP 12, UMD 4 (5 Inn.)
In the backend of the doubleheader, CSP struck first after loading the bases without two outs, Katie Klotz was hit by a pitch to plate the game's first run. Gabby Martinez reached on an error by the Bulldog third baseman allowing two runs to score as the Golden Bears opened up a 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs used the long ball once again, getting one back on a Sierra Thomas solo shot to right in the top of the second inning.
Duluth tacked on two more in the third on a bunt single followed by a grounder to first that brought home UMD's second run. The Bulldogs cut the CSP lead to just one with an RBI single to left later in the inning.
Danni Sharum leadoff the third and belted her second homer of the afternoon, a solo shot to left center to push the CSP lead to 5-3. Taylor Dawyduk answered with a leadoff homer of her own in the fourth, her third of the day to make it, 5-4.
CSP broke things open in the bottom of the fourth, plating four in the inning, starting with an Ashlyn Peterson solo homer to leadoff the inning, it was the first career roundtripper for the sophomore right fielder.
A pair of walks and a Riley Rosenthal single later in the inning loaded the bases, Nora Brandt brought home one on a fielder's choice and Gabby Martinez lined a single to left to break it open, giving CSP a 9-4 lead.
With a five run lead in the bottom of the fifth, the CSP offense got to work once again as Lily Burke worked a leadoff walk, later stealing second base. Rosenthal worked a five pitch walk later in the inning to put two on with two out for Danni Sharum, who promptly launched a three run bomb to left to make it 12-4, ending it in five innings and securing the split for CSP.
The bomb was Sharum's 10th of the season and capped off a three homer afternoon for the senior.
Emmy Bowne got the start in game two and tossed 3.0 innings, giving up seven hits and three earned runs with one strikeout. Tatum Dunlavy took over from there tossing 2.0 innings, allowing one earned run with two punchouts to pick up the win and move to 11-8 in the circle.
