After a two solid Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) series splits to start off last week, the St. Catherine University softball team found itself on a five-game losing streak to end a tough week of conference play. Fortunately for the Wildcats, they were to end their skid generating 21 hits in 4-2 and 7-2 wins to sweep Carleton College Tuesday afternoon in Northfield, Minnesota. 

On the day, the Wildcats had 10 players record at least one hit on the day while the three-player first-year pitching staff combined to allow just four runs and 16 hits for the Knights. 

Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) was the Wildcat hero at the plate Tuesday going 4-for-5 at the plate with three double, three walks and three runs scored. In the second game, the junior was a perfect 3-for-3 and scored three of the team's seven runs. She is now tied for second all-time at St. Kate's for runs in a single season (31).

The series opened with a pitchers battle as both teams were held scoreless through the opening two innings. In the bottom of the third, the Knights plated the day's first run when Corrie Lucchesi drove in Arielle Zuaro on a ground out putting her squad up 1-0. 

The Wildcats responded immediately, though, in the top of the fourth. After a Michaela Bruns (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) walk and back-to-back singles from Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo), Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) singled to bring pinch runner Michaela Thielfoldt (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and Macziewski home to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. 

In the top of the fifth, the Wildcats built their lead to 3-1 when Maggie Germscheid (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) – who came in to run for Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) after she was walked – came across home plate on a Bruns RBI. 

The Knights cut the deficit to just one in the bottom of the sixth before the Wildcats added their fourth and final run in the top of the seventh when Maczieski doubled and then scored when Sis doubled on the very next at bat. 

Flugstad pitched a complete game and her ninth win of the season on the mound for the Wildcats in game one. She allowed just one earned run on eight hits and struck out two Knight batters in the process. She moves to No. 7 all-time at St. Kate's for career strikeouts with 108 in just 18 appearances. 

The Wildcats got off to a hot start in game two as they plated one run in the first inning and four in the second. Macziewski recorded one of her two RBI on the day when she hit a double to bring Rohr home for the 1-0 lead. Then, in the second inning Caity DeWitt (Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi) hit a two-RBI double to bring Donielle Kurvers (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) and Sis home. Rohr then brought DeWitt home on one of her three doubles of the day before Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) hit a sacrifce fly to center field to bring Rohr in for a run. 

The top of the fourth brought another DeWitt run from a Rohr RBI to increase the Wildcat lead to 6-0. The Knights cut the Wildcat lead to 6-2 with runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings. 

The Wildcats responded in the top of the sixth when Lindenfelser collected her second RBI of the game on a single that brough Rohr home for the third time in the game and put the Knight comeback out of reach. 

Kailee Berquam (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) collected her fifth win of the season after 4.2 innings of work on the mound. She gave up two runs on six hits and struck out three batters, while Lindenfelser came in for relief and gave up just two hits in 2.1 innings pitched. 

In addition to the hot hitting from Rohr and Macziewski, Sis finished the day with three hits and two doubles, while Flugstad was 2-for-4 in the opener. Woebke and Jessi Tyminski (Champlin, Minn./Totino-Grace) each had a pair of hits on the day, while Kurvers also collected a hit. 

With the wins, the Wildcats improved to 19-9 on the season and 6-6 in the MIAC. The Wildcats return to action Thursday for their first of three-consecutive home series. They are scheduled to begin a doubleheader with Saint Mary's University at 3:30 p.m. in St. Paul. 

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