ST. PAUL, MINN. – For the past two years, the St. Catherine University softball team has split in its doubleheaders against St. Olaf College. On a day that felt like in belonged in February rather than April, the Wildcats were once again forced to settle for a split against the St. Olaf College Oles. In its second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheader of the weekend, St. Kate's defeated the visiting Oles 4-0 in game one before falling 3-0 in game two.
St. Olaf managed to hold the Wildcat offense at bay in the first inning of the first game, sending
Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount),
Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) and
Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Bloomington) down in order to start the game. However, the Oles were unable to contain St. Kate's in the second inning as they managed to score three runs on three hits off St. Olaf starter Julie Graf.
Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) hit a leadoff single to start the inning before
Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) drew a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs. Then, starting pitcher
Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) helped out her own cause by hitting a double down the right field line to score Montero from second.
St. Kate's wasn't done scoring, though, after Flugstad's double.
Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) extended the Wildcats lead, as George scored easily from third and Flugstad made it all the way home from second on the catcher's RBI single to give St. Kate's a 3-0 lead after two innings. Montero was 2-2 at the plate while Galvez was 2-3.
The Wildcats added an insurance run in the third inning, as Woebke scored on an RBI fielder's choice from George. However, that insurance run wasn't needed, as Flugstad was firing on all cylinders on the mound. The junior ace earned her third-straight shutout win on Sunday in dominating fashion, as she allowed just two St. Olaf batters to reach base in seven innings. Flugstad struck out seven and walked one while giving up just three hits to help St. Kate's take game one 4-0.
Unfortunately, things did not go the Wildcats way in game two. After 1-2-3 innings for both teams, the Oles managed to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, as
Maddie Greer (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) gave up two hits to Jess Bentley and Macy Vosbeek to put St. Olaf ahead 1-0. While St. Kate's tried to answer with a big inning of its own in the third, the team was shut down by Graf, who, after surrendering three runs in the first game, struck out 10 Wildcat batters in game two, including two in the third inning.
The Oles extended their lead to 2-0 in the top of the fifth, as shortstop Kristina Lodahl scored on a RBI single from Emily Carr. However, the 2-0 lead was still within reach for St. Kate's. The Wildcats put together a rally in the bottom of the sixth, as Hinderaker earned a lead off walk to jump start the inning. Unfortunately, St. Kate's was unable to cross the plate in the inning, resulting in St. Olaf's 2-0 lead after six inning.
Carr extended the Oles lead to 3-0 in the top of the seventh, but the Wildcats still had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the inning with the heart of their order due up at the plate. However, Flugstad and Galvez went down 1-2, it was up to first baseman
Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) to keep the inning alive. She did that and more, hitting an infield single then reaching third on a throwing error to keep the Wildcats going. Sadly, the next batter struck out to end the game, resulting in the 3-0 loss and series split.
With the split, St. Kate's improves 15-7 overall and holds a 3-1 mark in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to action on Wednesday, April 5, when they take on No. 24 St. Thomas at the University of St. Thomas at 3:30 p.m.
