ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team suffered their first loss of the 2016 season last weekend in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener against Saint Mary's University. Despite losing the first game 6-5, the Wildcats bounced back to win game two 3-0, proving they have the disipline to overcome heartbreaking defeat and improving their record to 14-1 and 1-1 in MIAC play.
Today, St. Kate's will hit the road again for another doubleheader against St. Olaf College. The Oles were swept in their MIAC opener against St. Thomas last Saturday and are looking for their first conference win this season. The first game between the Wildcats and St. Olaf is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.
With three hours to go until first pitch, there's plenty of time to read these five facts about the St. Kate's softball team:
74 - The Wildcats received 74 votes from Division III softball coaches and are now ranked No. 17 in the latest
National Fastpitch Coaches Association Poll, which was released Wednesday. The team was previously ranked No. 20 two weeks ago and climbed to No. 18 last week.
15 –
Robyn Rohr's (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville) 15 game hit streak is the longest in St. Kate's history, according to available records. She tied Alyssa Luedtke's 14-game record in her first at bat of the series against Saint Mary's by hitting a single up the middle in game one. Rohr then broke the record with an RBI single in the top of the fifth of game two. She has recorded a hit in every game for the Wildcats this season and currently leads the team in batting average (.442), hits (20), and RBIs (17).
3 – St. Kate's has three top-10 batting averages in the MIAC. Rohr,
Donielle Kurvers (Monticello, Minn. / Monticello), and
Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) are ranked No. 5, 6, and 7 in the category thanks to strong performances since the beginning of the season. They also are the top three hitters for the Wildcats in the same category.
2 – Pitcher
Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn. / Anoka) gave up just two hits in her start against Saint Mary's on Sunday. The sophomore threw her second complete game shutout of the year behind a 10 strikeout performance, helping the Wildcats bounce back to earn a 3-0 win after dropping the first game. Lindenfelser's 1.24 earned run average (ERA) is the second lowest in the MIAC, while her teammate
Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) holds the lowest ERA in the conference at 1.04.
11 – St. Olaf is the only team to have played less games than St. Kate's this season. The Wildcats have played 15 games in 2016 after cancelling/postponing games against UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire. The Oles, on the other hand, have played in just 11 games, posting a 5-6 overall and 0-2 record in MIAC play.
13 – St. Kate's split their series against St. Olaf last season, dropping the first game 6-7 before coming back to win the second 7-3. The Oles tied the game in the top of the seventh inning at 5-5, then took a 7-6 lead in the eighth to have the Wildcats their fourth loss of the season. St
