ST. PAUL, MINN. – At the start of the week, the April weather was not agreeing with the St. Catherine University softball team's schedule. The Wildcats had three doubleheaders cancelled in four days and had nearly a week off between doubleheaders. That week off seemed to pay off Friday afternoon. St. Kate's swept Macalester College, winning game one 8-0 and 10-5 to stay rooted in second place in the Minnesota Intercollege Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings.

Despite the week off, the Wildcats did not show any signs of rust in their 8-0 game one win over the Scots. In fact, St. Kate's scored in the top of the first to take an early lead that they would never relinquish. Shortstop Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North) hit a leadoff bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by pitcher Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson). Rohr eventually made it to third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field), and the Wildcats had a 1-0 lead after the first inning.

St. Kate's did not score in the second or third inning, but they didn't need to with Flugstad on the mound. The sophomore ace held Macalester at bay, giving up just three hits while striking out six in four innings of work to earn her thirteenth win of the season. She also gave her offense plenty of opportunities to add to their one run lead, which is exactly what the Wildcats did in the fourth inning. With two outs in the top of the inning and no one on base, Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) hit a single up the middle, found her way to second on a wild pitch by Scots pitcher Sophie Migcaz, and scored the second run of the ball game on an RBI single by Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson).

Flugstad gave up one hit in the bottom of the fourth but managed to stifle Macalester's rally before it even began. St. Kate's added to their lead in the top of the fifth, scoring six runs off six hits, including a two-run home run by first baseman Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo). With an 8-0 lead, Kailee Berquam pitched a perfect fifth inning, sealing the Wildcats game one 8-0 victory.

Offensively, St. Kate's picked up right where it left off in game two. The Wildcats threatened in the top of the first inning after Rohr was issues a leadoff walk but were unable to score. Macalester managed to put a runner on in the bottom of the inning, but starting pitcher Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn. / Anoka) put an end to that threat with a strikeout and groundout.  

St. Kate's was the first team to strike as they broke through the scoreless tie with a run in the top of the second inning. Galvez hit a one out single, advanced to second on a throwing error by the second baseman, and scored on another Woebke single, giving St. Kate's a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcat offense really came alive in the third inning when the team scored four runs to increase their lead to 5-0. Rohr reached base for the fourth consecutive at bat, this time on a single to left field and scored from first on a monster double from Flugstad. Lindenfelser followed that up with an RBI double of her own, and St. Kate's proceeded to score two more runs with the bases loaded.

The Wildcats added four more runs in the top of the fourth, as Lindenfelser and Galvez both hit home runs to extend the lead to 9-0. However, the Scots were not about to go home quietly. They scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut St. Kate's led to 9-5. However, the home team would not score again, and the Wildcats scored the decisive tenth run in the top of the seventh to take the ball game 10-5. 

Rohr led all hitters going 2-3 in both games and reaching base six consecutive at bats, while Lindenfelser and Flugstad both went 3-5 in game two.

With the sweep of Macalester, St. Kate's improved to 27-4 and 14-4 in MIAC play. The Wildcats will continue their weekend crusade tomorrow when they take on the College of Saint Benedict at home at 1 p.m.