Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
With just eight days remaining before the start of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) tournament, the St. Catherine University softball team was looking forward to its home opener after a spring filled with postponements, rescheduled games and indoor contests.
 
The Wildcats didn't disappoint the home crowd as they picked up two much-needed wins with  7-4 and 6-4 decisions to sweep the College of Saint Benedict Thursday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn.
 
After giving up three runs to the Blazers in the first, it took just one inning for the Wildcats to claim victory as they racked up seven runs in the second to take an early lead they never surrendered.
 
The runs came in exciting fashion as Ashley Matthys (Elk River, Minn.) hit her third home run of the season to lead off the inning and get the Wildcats on the board.
 
Kaitlyn Luedtke (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) loaded the bases for her sister Alyssa Luedtke (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) who hit an RBI single to bring Caitlin DeWitt (Stillwater, Minn.) across the plate for her seventh run of the season.
 
The Wildcats would score another run on a walk keeping the bases loaded with two outs remaining in the inning.
 
It was the perfect situation for the designated player Jessica Tyminski (Champlin, Minn.) – who has been hitting .333 this season and has a slugging percentage of .563 – to come up to bat. The junior took advantage in the best way possible as she hit her first collegiate grand slam to bring four Wildcat runs across the plate, giving the Wildcats a four-run lead.
 
The Blazers would pick up an unearned run in the fourth to cut the Wildcat lead to three, but that's as close as they would get to stopping the Wildcats from picking up their second MIAC victory of the season.
 
First-year Lindsey Klein (Shoreview, Minn.) pitched a complete game for her third win of the season. She struck out five Blazer batters and allowed five hits.
 
Game two started like first as the Blazers took an early 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI double from Lexi Alm in the third inning.
 
The Wildcats weren't going to go quietly, though, as Raven Baker (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Kaitlyn Luedtke each singled to get the inning going for the Wildcats. Thanks to an Alyssa McKee (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) two-RBI double and a Blazer fielding error, the Wildcats took a 3-2 lead.
 
In the top of the fifth, Emily Engelmeier hit a two-run homer for the Blazers to take back a 4-3 lead. Again, the Wildcats remained resilient and rebounded in the bottom of the inning with two runs scored on Blazer errors to take a final 6-4 lead.
 
Baker finished game two 2-for-3 with two runs scored to lead the Wildcats at the plate, while Becky Hanson (Brookfield, Wis.) picked up her second win of the season on the mound. Klein came in for relief and earned her third save of the season.
 
With the wins, the Wildcats improve to 11-12 on the season and 3-7 in conference play. Up next, the Wildcats will host Saint Mary's University in a doubleheader Friday at 3:30 p.m.
 
---
 
This season, one Wildcat softball alum will throw out the opening pitch at each Wildcat home game. Thursday, the Wildcats welcomed back Kelsey (Luedtke) Sundberg '12 for the home opener. Sundberg was an All-MIAC selection in 2010 and earned Academic All-MIAC honors three times. A nursing major, Sundberg now works as a registered nurse at Mercy Hospital on the medical surgical orthopedic and oncology floor.
 
Wildcats on Twitter
Wildcats on Facebook