ST. PAUL, MINN. – For the past two seasons, the St. Catherine University softball team has come close to sweeping Gustavus Adolphus College. Since head coach Colleen Powers took over the program in 2014, the Wildcats have always competed well against Gustavus, but haven't been able to walk away with a series sweep. That all changed Thursday afternoon, as St. Kate's beat both the cold weather and the Gusties, earning their third consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) sweep with a 9-3 game one and 5-4 game two win.

Game one didn't necessarily start the way the Wildcats wanted, as Gustavus jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after the first two innings. Pitcher Hannah Heacox scored two of the Gusties first three runs of the games, one in the first and one in the second, to help her team take the early lead. She also managed to hold St. Kate's usually potent offense to just two hits and one run in the first two innings. Sam Skwarek (St. Anthony, Minn. / St. Anthony) scored the Wildcats first run of the ball game thanks to an RBI single from Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) to cut Gustavus lead to 3-1.

After the first two innings, Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) gave her team a chance to tie and take the lead with flawless third and fourth innings on the mound. The junior ace struck out three Gustie batters and allowed just one to reach base over those two innings, allowing St. Kate's batters a chance to give her a lead. The Wildcats did that and more in the bottom of the fourth, as they scored three runs off Heacox to take a 4-3 lead. Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) got things going in the fourth with a double before Heacox hit Flugstad and Sis back-to-back to load the bases with just one out. Brittney Frenette (Columbia Heights, Minn. / Irondale) then hit a line drive single to left field, scoring Galvez and Flugstad, before Claire Woebke's (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) RBI single brought in Sis to give St. Kate's a 4-3 lead.

Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) extended the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth with her seventh home run of the season. Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) also scored in the inning, extending the lead to 6-3 with two innings left to play.

Flugstad sent the Gusties down in order in the sixth, and the Wildcats went ahead and scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 9-3 lead. Maddie Greer (Oakdale, Minn. / North. St. Paul) then clinched the win with a nearly flawless seventh inning, helping St. Kate's improve to 25-10 overall and 13-4 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play.

Flugstad struck out nine and allowed just three runs to cross the plate in six innings of work to earn her 17^th win of the season. Macziewski, Galvez and Woebke were all 2-3 at the plate in game one, while George broke the school record for RBIs in a single season with her RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

St. Kate's picked up right where it left off in game two, scoring two quick runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-0 lead over the Gusties. Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) and Macziewski both scored thanks to impressive base running and a key hit from George to give their team the lead. Hinderaker scored again in the third after drawing a her school-record breaking 22^nd walk of the season, extending the Wildcats lead to 3-0, before Macziewski and Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) scored in the fifth.

After pitching a near flawless first game, Flugstad was just as good in the second. The junior ace pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the third inning, preserving St. Kate's 3-0 lead, and gave up just one earned run in the fourth, the first and only earned run Flugstad allowed in 11 innings of work. She also picked up her 18th win of the season. 

With a 5-1 lead, Greer went in to relieve Flugstad in the top of the sixth. She allowed one Gustavus run to score in the sixth, whittling the Wildcats lead to 5-2. Things got interesting the seventh, though, as Emily Carlson hit a two-run home run, cutting St. Kate's lead to 5-4. However, Flugstad went back in and put a stop to the Gustie rally, getting Jessica Nueman to pop out to Woebke to secure the 5-4 victory.

Macziewski led all hitters again in game two, going 2-3 at the plate with two runs and a stolen base. Hinderaker broke the school record for walks in a single season in the bottom of the third inning and solidified her place at the top with a second walk in the bottom of the fourth.

Thanks to the sweep of Gustavus, St. Kate's is now 26-10 overall and 14-4 in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to the field on Saturday, when they take on the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Game one is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. with game two to follow.