ST. PAUL, MINN. – Doubleheaders between the St. Catherine University softball team and the College of Saint Benedict have historically been some of the most intense and entertaining games of the softball season. On Saturday, the situation was no different, only this time, spots on the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) were on the line. Fortunately, the Wildcats were up for the challenge, as they won one of two games to move up the MIAC standings with a 9-4 game two win.
Unfortunately, St. Kate's hit a bit of a snag, as it lost game one by a final score of 2-1. Emilie Antony hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first to give the Blazers an early 1-0 lead. However, the Wildcats responded by scoring a run of their own in the second, as
Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) scored on a bases loaded walk to even the score at 1-1.
Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) held Saint Ben's bats at bay in the second inning, but a leadoff double from Kate Demming eventually turned into the Blazers second run of the day, allowing them to take a 2-1 lead. Still, there were four innings left to play, and the Wildcats were confident they would be able to come up with the game tying and game winning run. Sadly, Cassie Meyer managed to keep St. Kate's off the board in the final four innings, despite the Wildcats putting multiple runners on base, resulting in the 2-1 game one loss.
Fortunately, St. Kate's rebounded in the best way possible: with a resounding game two victory. The Wildcats jumped ahead 1-0 in the second inning when
Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) hit a monster home run over the left field fence to give her team its first lead of the day. St. Kate's added to its lead in the top of the third, when
Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) hit a very long sacrifice fly to score
Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) from third to make it 2-0.
Neither team scored until the fifth inning, when Saint Ben's managed to score its first run of the game to cut the lead to 2-1. Again, the Wildcats had the perfect answer, as they scored two runs in the sixth and five in the seventh to take a 9-1 lead.
Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) provided the highlight of the two innings, as she hit a three-run homer to score St. Kate's seventh, eighth and ninth runs.
Things did get a little bit interesting in the bottom of the seventh. After the Wildcats took the 9-1 lead,
Kailee Berquam (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) relieved Flugstad on the mound in a final inning. However, Berquam gave up two hits to open the inning and a three-run home run to Antony, allowing the Blazers to cut St. Kate's lead to 9-4. Flugstad then went back in to pitch and, despite a minor trip running the bases, managed to secure her 19
th win of the season with two strike outs and a ground out.
Flugstad was outstanding on the mound for the Wildcats, as she pitched nearly two complete games. Despite taking the game one loss, she still won her 19
th game of the season in game two, tying her own school record for single season wins. George was 3-3 at the plate in game two with three runs and one RBI.
Thanks to the split, St. Kate's overall record improves to 27-11 and the team holds a 15-5 mark in MIAC play. The Wildcats have one more doubleheader to solidify their spot in the top-4 and clinch their second straight berth to the postseason tournament. St. Kate's will host Hamline University at 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon in St. Paul, Minnesota.
