NORTHFIELD, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team put together one of its best offensive days of the season on a day that felt more like it belonged in December than April. St. Kate's recorded 28 combined hits in their two games against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) foe St. Olaf College. Their 16 hits in game one helped the Wildcats score a 9-1 victory over the Oles. However, despite outhitting St. Olaf six to four in game two, St. Kate's fell by a score of 4-3.
The offensive firepower was on display for the Wildcats early in game one, as each player in the batting lineup had at least one hit against the Oles. St. Kate's took an early 1-0 in the top of the second thanks to a leadoff single by catcher
Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field). Gilbert advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by starting pitcher
Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn. / Anoka) then scored on an RBI single by
Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson).
Once they took a 1-0 lead, the Wildcats ran with it and never looked back. They added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning, once again with a leadoff hit. This time, the hit was a solo home run by
Donielle Kurvers (Monticello, Minn. / Monticello), which gave St. Kate's a 2-0 lead through four innings.
St. Olaf did manage to score one run off Lindenfelser in the bottom of the fourth, cutting the Wildcats lead to 2-1 with three innings left to play. St. Kate's answered with two runs in the top of the fifth, three in the sixth, and an extra two in the seventh. Galvez and third baseman
Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) both hit home runs in the fifth and sixth innings respectively, while five other Wildcat hitters recorded hits in the final three innings.
Lindenfesler was nearly perfect in the complete game victory, as she gave up just one run on two hits. She struck out nine St. Olaf batters and did not issue a single walk after striking out 10 batters against Saint Mary's on Sunday.
In game two, the Wildcats found themselves in a 1-0 hole after the Oles scored in the bottom of the third inning. However, St. Kate's already proved twice this year that they are one of the toughest teams to beat down the stretch of the game. The Wildcats rallied in the top of the fifth inning thanks to the senior duo of Kurvers and
Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North). Kurvers led off the inning with an infield single then took second on a sacrifice bunt by
Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount).
With her fellow senior in scoring position, Rohr did what she has done all season: hit the ball. The shortstop hit an RBI double over the right fielder's head to bring Kurvers in from second then scored herself on a single by Macziewski.
St. Olaf answered with a three run inning of their own in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead with six outs remaining in the game. In the sixth, though, the Wildcats mounted another rally. Pitcher
Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) reached first on a lead off walked and scored the third run of the ballgame a few batters later. Unfortunately, the rally was not enough as St. Kate's fell 4-3 in the second game of the day.
With the Northfield split, the Wildcats overall record improved to 15-2 and they stay .500 in MIAC play with a 2-2 record. St. Kate's will return to their home field on Saturday to take on cross-town rival the University of St. Thomas. Last season, the Wildcats beat the Tommies for the first time in program history in game one on Kurvers' walk off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 11 a.m. with game two to follow.
