ST. PAUL, MINN. – It has already been a historic season for the St. Catherine University softball team. The Wildcats already achieved several firsts in 2016, including being ranked in the top-25 and the NCAA regional rankings for the first time in program history. St. Kate's can add another first to their archives after Saturday's doubleheader against the College of Saint Benedict. The Wildcats split with the Blazers to qualify for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) postseason tournament for the first time in program history.

After sweeping Macalester on Friday night, St. Kate's needed to win at least one game against Saint Ben's to clinch a spot in the conference tournament. Knowing that, the Wildcats took care of business in the first game, but it wasn't easy. For the first time since March, St. Kate's did not score first. Rather, Saint Ben's took a 3-0 lead after getting two hits off starting pitcher Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) in the inning.

The Wildcats managed to cut the lead to one in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the inning. Shortstop Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North) opened the inning with a single and took second on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson). However, the sacrifice bunt wasn't needed, as three-hole hitter Megan Lindenfelser blasted a pitch over the center field home run for her second home run in as many days.

St. Kate's added another run in the fouth behind a single from senior outfielder Donielle Kurvers (Monticello, Minn. / Monticello). Kurvers reached first, stole second during Rohr's at bat, and made it home on Macziewski's single down the right field line.

Saint Ben's, though, was not about to give the St. Kate's their ticket to the conference tournament, as they scrapped together a two-run inning of their own in the top of the fifth. The game was tied 5-5 through the bottom of the sixth inning, when Kurvers scored the game winning run. After reaching first on a fielder's choice, Kurvers scored on a scorching line drive double by fellow senior Rohr to give the Wildcats a 6-5 win and stamp their ticket to the conference tournament next weekend.

Flugstad earned her fifteenth win of the season in her tenth complete game of the season. She allowed five runs and seven hits over seven innings of work.

The start of game two was almost identical to that of game one, only without Saint Ben's scoring three runs in the top of the first. After giving up a leadoff single, game two starter Lindenfelser got two big strikeouts and a lineout to send the Blazers back to the bench without a run. Then, in the bottom of the inning, history repeated itself. Rohr found her way to first, reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Macziewski, and scored on another home run to center field by Lindenfelser.

With a 2-0 lead, Lindenfelser looked like she was going to get through the second inning unscathed despite giving up a leadoff single. She recorded back-to-back outs by Saint Ben's six and seven hitters to bring up the bottom of the order. Unfortunately, Lindenfelser wasn't as lucky as she was in the first inning as the Blazers scored two runs to tie the game at 2-2.

St. Kate's took a lead in the third after the Wildcats took advantage of a Blazer error. Leadoff hitter Macziewski reached first on an error by the shortstop and scored on Sis' double to center field.

Unfortunately, the third inning was the last time St. Kate's would hold the lead. Saint Ben's scored two unanswered runs in the fifth and three unearned runs in the top of the seventh to win game two 7-3 and ruin the Wildcats hopes of a sweep.

Despite the game two loss, St. Kate's walked away with a 28-5 overall record and a 15-5 mark in MIAC play. They were also one of two teams to cement their place in the MIAC postseason tournament. As of now, the Wildcats hold the two seed in the conference behind the University of St. Thomas, who clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament and home field advantage with a sweep over Bethel University.

St. Kate's final place in the standings will be determined on Sunday when they take on Gustavus Adolphus College in the final regular season game of 2016. The doubleheader will take place in St. Peter, Minnesota with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.