As if things couldn't get any better for the St. Catherine University softball team this week, Sunday proved that they could. Following a historic day with an upset of No. 12 Unviersity of St. Thomas Saturday, the Wildcats managed to eclipse the 10-win mark in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play for the first time since 2009 following a strong offensive day against the College of Saint Benedict Saturday in St. Paul. 

The Wildcats exploded for 23 hits and 17 runs to sweep the Blazers and improve to 11-6 in the MIAC this season with just two doubleheaders remaining on the schedule. In the opener, the Wildcats overcame and early deficit to win 7-3 in seven innings, before taking game two 10-0 in five innings for their third conference series sweep this week. 

In dramatically different playing conditions than Saturday, the Wildcats appeared shakey in the opening inning of game one allowing the Blazers two runs on just one hit and an error for a 2-0 lead early. The Wildcats responded in the bottom of the inning when Michaela Bruns (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) brought in Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) to cut the deficit to 6-2. 

The Wildcats evened the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the third when Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) singled to bring in Saturday's hero Donielle Kurvers (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) in the three-hit inning. 

The offensive strength of the Wildcats took over in the bottom of the fourth as the Wildcats compiled four htis to score three runs and take a 5-2 lead. First, Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) hit a lead off single up the middle and eventually scored on a double from Jessi Tyminski (Champlin, Minn./Totino-Grace).

Then, Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) – who singled earlier in the inning – came home on one of the game's two singles from Bethany Del Real (Los Angeles, Calif./John Marshall). Pinch runner Hailey Kuhl (Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing) then came home on a sacrifice fly from Kurvers. 

The Blazers tried to chip away at the Wildcat lead in the top of the fifth scoring a run, but the Wildcats put the comeback out of reach when Michaela Thielfoldt (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and Macziewski scored in the bottom of the inning on another double from Tyminski to make it 7-3. 

Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) earned her 12th win of season and fourth in a row on the mound for the Wildcats. She thre her 11th complete game of the year and allowed just two earned runs on only six hits as she struck out seven batters. So far this season, Flugstad leads all MIAC pitchers in earned run average (1.61) and strikeouts (127), while her 12 wins is tied for second. 

Game two started off differently for the Wildcats as they took the first lead after Bruns hit her school-record 13th double of the season to bring Rohr in for one of her three runs of the day. 

With a 1-0 lead after one, the Wildcats colelcted five runs in the bottom of the second inning. First, Rohr grabbed a ground out RBI to bring Thielfoldt across home before pinch runner Maggie Germscheid (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) came in on a passed ball and Caity DeWitt (Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi) scored on a Kurvers single through the right side. Kurvers immediately came in on Lindenfelser's fourth home run of the season to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead after two. 

Following a scoreless third, the Wildcats made sure the game would end in five innings when they added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. DeWitt led off the inning with a crushing double to right center and then came home on a double from Rohr in the very next at bat. Lindenfelser drove in Rohr with a single up the middle. The scoring in the inning concluded with the fifth homer of the season for Bruns – a two-run shot that brough Kuhl in for her second run of the day. The home run also helped Bruns tie the school record for RBI in a season (39).

Lindenfelser picked up her seventh win of the season, sixth complete game and third shutout on the mound for the Wildcats. She and the Wildcat defense held the Blazers scoreless and the first-year hurler gave up just four hits while striking out six batters. 

Bruns led the Wildcats on the day goign 4-for-5 with a home run, double and a walk, while Rohr was 4-for-6 with two doubles and a walk. Lindenfelser and Macziewski each had three hits on the day with Lindefelser collecting four RBI to match Bruns. Tyminski, Flugstad and Del Real each had two hits to add to the Wildcat frenzy at the plate. 

The Wildcats improve to 24-10 on the season and 11-6 in the MIAC. They conclude the regular season next week with a doubleheader set for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday against Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, before hosting Macalester College Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup in St. Paul. 

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