ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team has found many different ways to win this 2017 season. On Sunday, the Wildcats earned their most decisive wins of the season, as they swept the Bethel University Royals in dominating fashion. St. Kate's offense powered the team to 6-2 and 12-0 wins, but it was the pitchers that won the day, as Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson), Maddie Greer (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and Kailee Berquam (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) shut out the Royals in near-perfect fashion.

The Wildcats didn't waste any time getting on the board in game one. After Flugstad sent the Bethel batters down in order, Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) hit a bloop single between the third baseman and shortstop to give St. Kate's a runner on first with no outs. She then advanced to second on a grounder by Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) in the hopes of getting home during Kylie Macziewski's (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) at bat. Hinderaker didn't have to wait very long, as Macziewski launched the first pitch she saw deep over the center field fence, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

The Royals managed to get out of the inning with two groundouts to the second baseman and looked to answer in the top of the second when shortstop Emily Eaton hit a leadoff single to start the inning. However, Flugstad got two of the next three batters to strike out swinging, ending Bethels threat before it even started.

Both St. Kate's and the Royals managed to get a base runner to second with two outs in the third inning, but neither team was able to score a run, thanks to strong defensive play. However, Bethel legitimately threatened to tie the Wildcats and take the lead in the top of the fourth. Thanks to a walk and a single, the Royals had runners on first and third with just one out. Flugstad, though, was gold on the mound, as she got Jana Roste to strike out swinging and fooled Maddie Fauth with an off speed pitch to end Bethel's first legitimate scoring threat of the game.

The Royals weren't able to hold the Wildcats at bay in the bottom of the fourth, as Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth), Flugstad and Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Willaims Field) all scored to extend St. Kate's lead to 5-0. The Wildcats tacked on an insurance run in the fifth, as Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) scored from second on George's stand up double.

Bethel managed to score two runs in the top of the seventh off Hannah Johnson (Milaca, Minn. / Milaca), but it wasn't enough to overcome St. Kate's lead, and the Wildcats went on to win 6-2. Flugstad earned her MIAC leading thirteenth win of the season with a season high nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings of work. Hinderaker was 3-3 at the plate while Macziewski hit her fourth home run of the season.

St. Kate's got off to an equally strong start in game two. The Wildcats took advantage of three Royal errors in the bottom of the first inning and scored 12 runs, the most runs St. Kate's has scored in a single inning since March 20, 2015. The highlight of the inning was George's grand slam to deep left field to give the Wildcats their 12-0 advantage.

The stars of game two, though, were Greer and Berquam. The two pitchers sent the Bethel batters down in order through the first four innings of play and were pitching a perfect game into the fifth inning. The Royals only hit came in the top of the fifth, when Schwartz managed to send Berquam's pitch up the middle. That was the only mistake Greer and Berquam made, though, as they blanked Bethel to earn the 12-0 win for St. Kate's.

Greer earned her second win of the season in game two in two innings of work, while Berquam finished the last three innings. George went 1-1 at the plate in game two while Montero was 2-3 with a single and a double.

Thanks to the sweep, the Wildcats are now 18-8 overall and hold a 6-2 mark in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. St. Kate's will return to action on Sunday, when the team travels to Northfield, Minnesota to take on Carleton College. Game one of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. with game two to follow.