Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
The St. Catherine Unviersity softball team found itself in an unusual situation, thanks to an unusual spring season this year.

The Wildcats – along with all 12 other Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams – had a once in a lifetime opportunity to enter the conference double elimination tournament with just two wins in pool play. All it would take was wins over Macalester College and No. 9 University of St. Thomas on a chilly, rainy evening. 

And after battling Macalester for nearly two-and-a-half hours in the rain, the Wildcats pulled off a 13-12 win in the bottom of the seventh inning on an Alyssa McKee (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) walk off double to open tournament play to face the top-seeded Tommies in a winner-taek-all final game Friday evening at Caswell Park in Mankato, Minn. 

Before falling 6-2 to the Tommies in game, the Wildcats held a lead over the MIAC champions through four-and-a-half innings of play. The Wildcats took an early lead in the third when Alyssa Luedtke (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) drove in Shae Elliott (Richfield, Minn.) for the one-run advantage. Jenna Brady (Greenfield, Minn.) would then hit an RBI single to bring Luedtke home. But that's as close as the Wildcats would get in catching the Tommies, as they surrendered five runs in the fifth inning. 

In game one, the Wildcats had big days at the plate from several hitters to lift them to victory over the Scots. Brady led the way as she went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI, while Luedtke touched home five times and finished 3-for-4 with a walk. 

In what was a back-and-forth marathon, Macalester took an early lead when Saraswati Wilson and Miranda Stokes each hit home runs to open the first inning. 

Finding themselves down 2-0 early, the Wildcats answered back with two runs in the bottom of the first off of hits from Elliott and Ashley Matthys (Elk River, Minn.) to tie the game at 2-2. 

Brady and McKee would each single in the second inning to give the Wildcats their first lead of the day at 4-2. That was, of course, until the Scots built some momentum and picked up four runs between the third and fourth innings to take a 7-4 lead. 

Again, the Wildcats responded as Brady would pick up two RBI on a single to right before Jessica Tyminski (Champlin, Minn.) sent her home on a double to left field.  

Matthys then turned up the heat when she launched her fourth home run of the season to give her squad what appeared to be a commanding 10-7 lead after four. 

The Scots added another run in the fifth, but the Wildcats continued to roll to a 12-8 lead as they took advantage of several Scot mistakes. However, the Scots weren't going to give up as they strung together several hits to even the game at 12-12 after six innings of play. 

Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats were at the top of the order where a majority of the big hits had come most of the day. Luedtke got the ball rolling with a single to third base on one out. Brady would then single to center field, advancing Luedtke to scoring position for McKee. 

As she has done all season, McKee found a way to pick up a clutch hit when the Wildcats needed it most. The junior hit her eighth double of the season to bring Luedtke home for the winning run. 

Five Wildcats tallied multiple hits in the game one win including first-year Callie Boelter (LeSueur, Minn.) who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Lindsey Klein (Shoreview, Minn.) struck out three Scots en route to her eighth win of the season on the mound. 

In the game two loss to St. Thomas, Luedtke finished 2-for-3 at the plate with and RBI, while Brady, McKee, Regan Kriechbaum (Faribault, Minn.) and Cassie Rooney (Plymouth, Minn.) picked up one hit a piece. On the day, Luedtke was 5-for-7 with six runs and an RBI, while Brady was 5-for-6 with five RBI and three runs scored.

With the loss, the Wildcats were eliminated from the MIAC tournament. The Tommies, along with Bethel University, Gustavus Adolphus College and St. Olaf College emerged victorious from pool play and will meet in the double elimination portion of the tournament. The Wildcats finish the season 16-17 overall and 7-11 in MIAC regular season conference play. 

Photo Gallery (Courtesy of Gustavus Sports Information)

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