The 2015 season has been the best in program history for the St. Catherine University filled with team and individual records and an outside chance at qualifying for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoffs. Though the postseason won't be in the picture this year, the young squad ended its incredible season on a six-game winning streak sweeping Macalester College with 8-0 and 9-1 wins in six innings each in front of a home crowd Saturday afternoon in St. Paul.
The Wildcats finished fifth in the conference standings with a school record MIAC mark of 15-7, while ending the year with a record 28-10 overall mark. Against the Scots, the Wildcats collected 17 runs on 23 hits and gave up just one one and three hits on the day to their opponent.
In the opener, the game appeared to be a pitching duel as neither team could find a way to get on the board through four-and-a-half innings. That is until the Wildcat bats came to life in the bottom of the fifth.
Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) recorded a two-RBI single to bring runners
Michaela Thielfoldt (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and
Maggie Germscheid (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) home for a 2-0 lead. Rohr then came home on a
Donielle Kurvers (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) single to make it 3-0.
The sixth inning proved to be the final one as the Wildcats plated five to end the game with the eight-run rule. The Wildcats got consecutive singles from
Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) and
Michaela Bruns (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) to put runners on base for
Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) who then hit a single bringing pinch runner
Hailey Kuhl (Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing) home for the first run.
Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) kept the hitting streak alive with another single that drove in Bruns, before Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) singled to bring Macziewski across the plate for the sixth Wildcat run of the game and third of the inning. Following a pitching change for the Scots, Rohr eventually ended the game with a single to right field that drove in Bruns and Flugstad for the 8-0 decision.
Flugstad earned her 14th win of the season – second-most in a single season for a Wildcat pitcher – and her fourth shutout which is also second-most in a single season. She allowed just one hit in her six shutout innings. The first-year also struck out eight Scot batters and didn't give up a single walk.
Not only did Flugstad finish the season with remarkable numbers for the Wildcats, but she led the MIAC with a 1.50 earned run average (ERA) – the second-lowest in a single season at St. Kate's. She was also second in the conference for wins and second for strikeouts with her school-record 146.
Game two started off much differently with the scoring coming early when Maczieski doubled to center field to bring Rohr for the 1-0 lead. Following a scoreless second, Lindenfelser and Macziewski each singled to bring Kurvers and Germscheid home, respectively, to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Wildcats loaded the bases with Bruns up to bat. The first-year then smacked her first collegiate grand slam to make it 7-0 in favor of the Wildcats. Those four RBI brought Bruns to 44 on the season which tied for the lead in the MIAC in the regular season.
Immediately following Bruns' grand slam, Macziewski took the first pitch from Scots' pitcher Brittany Ehmann and drove in her fourth home run of the season to put the Wildcats up 8-0 heading into the fifth inning. The Scots held on for a bit longer, though, when Ehmann doubled to bring in the lone run on the day.
The Wildcats finally ended the game in the bottom of the sixth when Flugstad hit a single through the right side to bring Lindenfelser and Bruns home to end the spectacular season with another impressive victory.
Lindenfelser earned her ninth win of the season allowing just one hit in her four shutout innings of work. The first-year also fanned seven Scot batters en route to victory.
Macziewski and Flugstad each finished the day 5-of-7 at the plate, while Lindenfelser and Rohr each had three hits on the day. Kurvers and Bruns each had two hits on the day.
Bruns finished the season tied for the MIAC lead in doubles with a school record 14. The Wildcats also finished with four players in the top 10 in the MIAC for batting average including Bruns (.402), Lindenfelser (.392), Rohr (.384) and Flugstad (.382). Rohr was also second in the MIAC for hits (53) and third in the MIAC with her school-record 43 runs.
Jessi Tyminski (Champlin, Minn./Totino-Grace) also collected a hit in the opening game to finish her four-years as a Wildcat with exactly 100 hits. The first-base player ended her career second all-time at St. Kate's for career walks (41), fourth in doubles (27), fifth in home runs (8) and fifth in RBI (57). Her 16 walks this season ranks third all-time in a single season. Tyminski was also a 2014 All-MIAC Honorable Mention selection and Academic All-MIAC honoree.
Caity DeWitt (Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi) also recorded a hit in her final game in a Wildcat uniform.Wildcat Softball on TwitterWildcat Softball on FacebookWildcats on TwitterWildcats on Facebook
