ST. PAUL, MINN. – It was another historic season for the St. Catherine University softball program in 2016. The Wildcats qualified for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) postseason tournament for the first time in program history on Saturday after beating the College of St. Benedict 6-5 in the opening game of the doubleheader. St. Kate's hoped to solidify their standing as the second place team against Gustavus Adolphus College on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Wildcats lost two heartbreaking games to the Gusties to finish the season with a 28-7 overall record and 15-7 mark in MIAC play.
St. Kate's had an opportunity to strike first in the opening game against Gustavus, which would have been key to a victory as the Wildcats are 9-2 this season when leading after the first inning.
Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North) opened the game with a leadoff walk, while
Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) followed up with a single to right field. With two on, nobody out, and the heart of the lineup coming to the plate, St. Kate's felt confident it would open the game with at least a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Gustie starting pitcher Hannah Heacox got the next three Wildcats to fly out, keeping the score knotted at 0-0.
Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) took the mound for St. Kate's in the first game with the task of keeping the recently hot Gustavus bats at bay. After walking the Gusties leadoff hitter, it looked like Flugstad was going to get out of the inning unscathed. Unfortunately, back-to-back singles gave Gustavus a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
The Wildcats threatened to cut into the Gusties lead in the third inning when Rohr and Macziewski both reached base on back-to-back walks. They were stranded on first and second, and St. Kate's wouldn't mount another potential come back until the top of the seventh inning.
Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) hit a clutch leadoff single to start the inning but was unable to score as the Wildcats fell 2-0 in the first game of the afternoon.
Game two got off to a much better start than game one, as St. Kate's opened the game with three hits and a run. Rohr led off with a single to the left side, advanced to second on a groundout by Macziewski and scored the first run of the ball game on an error by the pitcher.
With a 1-0 lead,
Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn. / Anoka) took the mound and dominated in the first inning. She sent the Gusties first three batters down in order to bring the Wildcats offense back to the plate. Unfortunately, St. Kate's also went down one-two-three in the top of the second, and Lindenfelser found herself back on the mound. After giving up a hit to leadoff batter Heacox, Lindenfelser and the Wildcat defense looked like they got through the inning unscathed. Then, an uncharacteristic error allowed Gustavus to score, tying the game at 1-1.
It looked like St. Kate's was going to retake the lead in the third inning, when they mounted another offensive rally. Rohr opened the third with a double but was out at third on a fielder's choice during the next at bat. However, after Rohr was out at third, Macziewski and Sis found their way to first and second with one out and Lindenfelser at the plate. The Wildcats four hitter hit a single, and it looked like Macziewski was on her way to scoring from second. Unfortunately, the third baseman was called out on the play at the plate, and the inning ended with the game knotted 1-1.
Neither team was able to score until the fifth inning, when Gustavus took a 2-1 lead. The Wildcats put together two rallies in the sixth and seventh innings and had a legitimate chance to tie the game in both innings. St. Kate's was unable to score both times and fell by a final score of 2-1.
Despite losing two heartbreaking games Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats finished their season with the best overall record in program history. St. Kate's only suffered seven losses in 2016, the fewest in program history, and concluded the season with an overall record of 28-7. They also ended with a 15-7 mark in conference play to tie the program best record they set last season.
Gustavus still has one more MIAC doubleheader to play this season before seeding for the MIAC playoffs will be determined. The University of St. Thomas clinched the top seed and home field advantage with a sweep of Bethel yesterday, but seed two through four will not be determined until Monday or Tuesday this week.
