Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Northern State University battled cold and windy conditions on Saturday before falling to the Central Region's 8th ranked Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference softball action.  The Golden Bears held the Wolves to just one run in Game 1 before putting up five unearned runs in the nightcap to take the two wins by final scores of 8-1 and 5-1.

Concordia moved to 29-15 overall and a solid 11-3 in NSIC games, while the Wolves slipped to 3-28 overall and 0-16 in conference action.

With wind-chill temperatures hovering in the mid-30s throughout the afternoon, the Wolves were unable to get anything going offensively in Game 1.  The Wolves' first three batters – Ashley Gabler, Rachel South and Brittany Huback – accounted for five of the team's six hits in that game, including South's 3-for-3 performance.

South's RBI single in the top of the sixth inning broke up the Golden Bears' Stephanie Schmikla's shut-out bid as the freshman drove in Ashley Gabler, who had led off the inning with a hard double down the left field line.

That run, however, proved to be all the Wolves could manage against Schmikla and the CU defense.  Schmikla allowed the six hits and one walk, letting the Golden Bears' defense gobble up the rest.

CU, meanwhile, had three players to put up three hits apiece, including leadoff hitter Anna Bjorlin, who went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and Abby Brundidge, the designated player, who put together a 3-for-4 performance with three runs scored.  First baseman Tiffany Rodd added three hits and four RBIs for the Golden Bears.

The Wolves got a stellar performance from senior right-hander Breanna Milnes, who finished the complete game with 14 strikeouts and no earned runs.  However, Milnes was tagged with the loss as the Golden Bears came up with five unearned runs – two in the second and three in the sixth – to escape with the win.

The Wolves will look to rebound on Sunday, as they get set to host St. Cloud State in another NSIC doubleheader.  The Huskies split with the University of Mary on Saturday.