Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
After gaining a sweep of the College of Saint Benedict to open up at home, the St. Catherine University softball team hoped it could pick up where it left off against a strong Saint Mary's University squad just 24 hours later.
Despite dropping game one of the doubleheader 6-2, the Wildcats were able to rebound in game two with a 7-3 victory to earn the split with the Cardinals Friday afternoon in St. Paul.
The Wildcats surged to victory thanks to the hot hitting of
Alyssa McKee (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) who finished the day 4-for-6 with a home run and two RBI, while
Lindsey Klein (Shoreview, Minn.) picked up her second-straight complete game victory in game two on the mound.
In game one, the Cardinals picked up three runs in the third inning and took advantage of several Wildcat errors for the victory, despite a 2-for-4 effort from
Alyssa Luedtke (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) at the plate.
Game two started off with a 1-0 top of the first inning for the Cardinals, but McKee responded with her fourth homer of the season to bring
Jenna Brady (Greenfield, Minn.) across the plate and give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.
The Cardinals would then take the lead back in the top of the fourth thanks to doubles from Paige Carter and Anna Ramboldt.
But again, the Wildcats found a way to strike back – and this time to take the lead for good – in the bottom of the inning.
After hitting a grand slam in the Wildcats' game two win over the Blazers,
Jessica Tyminski (Champlin, Minn.) continued her hot streak with a home run to lead off for the Wildcats and tie the score at three a piece.
Ashley Matthys (Elk River, Minn.) and
Shae Elliott (Richfield, Minn.) each singled to get runners on base for
Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn.) to hit an RBI single to center field and give the Wildcats a 4-3 lead.
Luedtke then brought Elliot and Besch home with a two-RBI triple, giving the Wildcats a comfortable 6-3 lead before adding a final run in the bottom of the fifth for the win.
Klein picked up her fourth win of the season on the mound, striking out five Cardinal batters and giving up just two earned runs on five hits. Luedtke finished the day with three hits, while Matthys and Tyminski each went 2-for-3 in game two.
With the split, the Wildcats are now 12-13 overall and 4-8 in MIAC play. The Wildcats will host the Augsburg College Auggies for another home doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. Parents day and Senior day festivities are scheduled for the series.
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This season, one Wildcat softball alum will throw out the opening pitch at each Wildcat home game. Friday, former pitcher Kayla (Schmidt) Yaeger '08 was the featured alum of the day. Yaeger played in a total of 54 games and had a career batting average of .217. A Written Communication and Philosophy double major, Yaeger now works as a brand manager at furnituredealer.net in Burnsville, Minn., and volunteers as a youth pitching coach in Farmington, Minn.
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