MOORHEAD, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team has waited a long eight days to return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. On Saturday, the Wildcats showed it was worth the wait, as their offense erupted for 34 runs in 13 innings against the Concordia College Cobbers.  St. Kate's opened the afternoon with an 18-1 game one win over the Cobbers before taking game two in five innings by a score of 16-1.

Despite the final score, it was actually Concordia that scored first in game one, taking a 1-0 inning over the Wildcats in the bottom of the first inning. First baseman Sydney Roberts hit a solo home run off starter Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) to give the Cobbers a 1-0 lead. Concordia starter Kelly Riordan managed to hold St. Kate's batters at bay in the first and second innings, but she was unable to keep the Wildcats off the board in the third. Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) opened the inning with a leadoff single, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson). Hinderaker didn't spend much time at second though, as she scored on an RBI single from Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson), tying the game at 1-1.

Neither the Wildcats nor the Cobbers could score in the fourth, as both Flugstad and Riordan sent the batters down in order. One inning later, though, was an entirely different story, as St. Kate's offense came alive in the fifth, scoring six runs on six hits to take a 7-1 lead. However, that wasn't even the Wildcats highest scoring inning of the game. After extending its lead to 8-1 in the sixth, St. Kate's scored 10 runs in the top of the seventh thanks to nine hits, including a bases clearing double from Woebke and a two-run homer by Macziewski, to win the game by a final score of 18-1.

After giving up the home run in the first, Flugstad was flawless on the mound, as she gave up just one run on three hits in five innings of work for her 15^th win of the season. Hannah Johnson (Milaca, Minn. / Milaca) was perfect in her relief appearance, as she did not allow a single Cobber to reach base and struck out five in the final two innings.

The Wildcats picked up right where they left off in game two, as they scored four quick runs to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. Once again, it was Hinderaker scoring from third on a RBI from Macziewski to give St. Kate's the early 1-0 lead. Then, Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) hit a single up the middle and Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) hit her team and MIAC leading eighth home run of the season to extend St. Kate's lead to 4-0 after the first.

The Wildcats added to their lead in the next two innings, scoring two in the second and five in the third to take an 11-0 lead over the Cobbers after two innings. That didn't necessarily mean St. Kate's was done scoring though. The Wildcats tacked on five more runs in the final fifth inning and eventually won the game by a final score of 16-1.

Maddie Greer (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul), Kailee Berquam (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) and Miranda Mader (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) all appeared on the mound for St. Kate's. Greer earned her third win of the season in two innings of work, where she gave up just two hits and struck out four. Berquam tallied two strike outs, while Mader gave up just one run and struck out on in her collegiate debut.

Macziewski unleashed her inner Kraken against the Cobbers, as she went 7-9 at the plate Saturday with eight RBIs, six runs and two home runs. Hinderaker was 7-8 with four RBIs and six runs.

The Wildcats will return home Sunday to host Macalester College in a MIAC doubleheader. Game one is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. with game two to follow.