Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 After suffering a tough two losses to St. Olaf College Friday afternoon, the St. Catherine University softball team hoped it could rebound in less than 24 hours and find a way to win in its fourth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheader this week. And rebound they did. Thanks to solid pitching from both
Lindsey Klein (Shoreview, Minn.) and
Rachael Thompson (St. Peter, Minn.), the WIldcats picked up 6-4 and 1-0 wins to sweep Carleton College Saturday morning in St. Paul.
Klein picked up her fourth win of the season on the mound in game one where she struck out 10 Knight batters and allowed just three earned runners on six hits. After allowing two runs in each of the first two innings, Klein shut out the Knights through the final five to pick up the victory and finish her fifth complete game of the season.
In game two, Thompson was just as solid picking up her third win and second shut out of the season. Thompson allowed just two Knight hits and struck out five in her ninth complete game of the season. The sophomore was also the hitting hero for the Wildcats as she drove in the winning Wildcat run with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to help the Wildcats return to .500 in conference play.
After the Knights opened up with four runs through two innings in the opener, the Wildcats responded in the second plating two runs on two Knight errors on the same play. Then, in the third, the Wildcats made their final comeback with four runs on four hits to take a 6-4 lead they would never surrender en route to victory.
The second game moved quickly as neither team could find a way to get anything going offensively. That is until the seventh when
Jessica Tyminski (Champlin, Minn.) finally connected for a single that dropped just past the infield in left center to put the winning run on base.
Alyssa McKee (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) then advanced pinch runner
Alyssa Besch (Lakeville, Minn.) to second on a dropped fly ball by the Carleton center fielder. Besch then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from
Larrissa Karl (Buffalo Lake, Minn.) before Thompson drove in Besch to end the game 1-0 in favor of the Wildcats.
McKee led the Wildcats on the day going 3-for-5 at the plate with one run scored in the opener and a double in the second game.
Alyssa Luedtke (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) continued her hot streak for the Wildcats with three hits on the day and an RBI in the opening game. Karl picked up an RBI double in the first game, while
Raven Baker (Minneapolis, Minn.) had an RBI, two runs and a stolen base.
Kaitlyn Luedtke (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) also recorded a hit and sacrifice in the first game, while
Erin Fitzpatrick (White Bear Lake, Minn.) recorded an RBI in her only at bat as a pinch hitter.
Callie Boelter (Henderson, Minn.) also scored a run in the first game when she entered as a pinch runner.
With the wins, the Wildcats improve to 7-15 on the season and 5-5 in MIAC play. The Wildcat hit the road next week with a MIAC doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. against Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn.
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