ROCHESTER, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team could not have asked for a better start to the season Saturday evening. The Wildcats scored a combined 19 runs in two games against St. Scholastica and Domincan. On Sunday, St. Kate's continued to dominate, both in the field and at the plate, in a 9-1 win over Simpson College but suffered its first loss of the year in the second game of the afternoon against Coe College.

The Wildcats first game of the afternoon was supposed to be the thriller, as it featured two teams that advanced to the semifinal round of the 2016 NCAA Regional Tournament. Last spring, St. Kate's defeated the Storm twice in two days to advance to the Regional Championship game for the first time in program history. Nine months later, the Wildcats once again found themselves victorious against Simpson, this time in thrilling 9-0 fashion.

St. Kate's starter Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) and Simpson starter Madison Rasmusson fooled batters through the first two innings to keep the score knotted 0-0. However, the Wildcats eventually figured out the Simpson righty in the third inning, as the batters erupted for five runs on six hits. Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) jumped started St. Kate's offense with a leadoff single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson), and made it to third on a double by Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount). However, Galvez was thrown out at home on the very next play, and the Wildcats were suddenly down to their final out with runners on second and third.

Flugstad then decided to take matters into her own hands. The junior pitcher hit a line drive single to center field, scoring both Hinderaker and Brittney Frenette (Irondale, Minn. / Irondale) to give St. Kate's a 2-0 lead. From there, the flood gates opened. Flugstad was advanced to third with a drag bunt single from Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) before Jenna George sent both players home with a monster double over the center field fence.

The Wildcats held their 5-0 lead into the sixth inning, when Simpson managed to score its first run of the game off junior pitcher Kailee Berquam (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo). However, St. Kate's answered with a four-run seventh inning, in which Hinderaker, pinch hitter Sam Skwarek (St. Anthony, Minn. / St. Anthony), George and Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) all scored, allowing Berquam to seal the 9-1 win with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

St. Kate's picked off right where it left off in the second game of the day against Coe College. Hannah Johnson (Milaca, Minn. / Milaca) got three quick outs in the opening inning to give her team the chance to take a lead in the bottom of the first. The Wildcats did exactly that as they took advantage of Coe errors to take a 2-0 lead with unearned runs.

Johnson got through the second inning unscathed, but defensive miscues in the third allowed Coe to score an unearned run of its own and cut St. Kate's lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the inning, the Wildcats threatened to earn that run back, but Hinderaker was stranded at second after drawing a leadoff walk.

Berquam entered the game to pitch in the fourth and sent the bottom of the Kohawks line up down in order. Macziewski managed to get on base to lead off the fourth inning, but like Hinderaker, was stranded at third, allowing the score to remain 2-1.

Unfortunately, the patience of the Coe batters paid off in the fifth and sixth innings. The Kohawks managed to score three unanswered runs, two in the fifth and one in the sixth, to take a 4-2 lead over St. Kate's. The Wildcats did manage to score one run in the seventh, as Hinderaker hit an RBI double to score Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo), cutting Coe's lead to 4-3. Sadly, St. Kate's was unable to score the game-tying run, instead suffering the 4-3 loss.

Flugstad earned her second win and first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, improving her record to 2-1 in the opening weekend. Berquam earned her second and third wins of the season Saturday afternoon, while Johnson was equally impressive in her collegiate debut, allowing just one unearned run in three innings of work against Coe.

Thanks to the strong weekend in Rochester, St. Kate's opens the season with a 3-1 record. The Wildcats will return to action on Friday, March 3, for their first home game of the 2017 season. St. Kate's will host UW-River Falls for a doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m. in the West St. Paul Dome.