ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team is used to being considered the underdogs. The Wildcats have spent 50 games proving everyone wrong, and no win may have been sweeter than Sunday afternoon's over Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) rival the University of St. Thomas. St. Kate's not only beat its arch rival 8-4 in the second and final game of the 2017 NCAA Super Regional, but did so in dramatic fashion, coming back twice to win and advance to the Division III Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma next weekend.
The Wildcats won their first ever Super Regional Championship thanks to fantastic play in every facet of the game. Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) earned her 29th win of the season and fifth of the 2017 NCAA Playoffs by giving up just four runs, three earned, and striking out three in seven innings of work. However, things didn't look good for St. Kate's after the opening inning of play, as the Tommies took a 3-0 lead on three hits off Flugstad. Melissa Barry hit a one-out triple to put a runner on third before Flugstad hit Chase Shortly with a pitch and walked Brenna Walek to load the bases. Then, Megan Bush hit a single up the middle to score Barry and Shortly before Walek scored during Dana Connelly's at bat.
Down 3-0 after an inning, the Wildcats very easily could have given up and started preparing for game three. However, the resiliency of St. Kate's showed in the bottom of the second as Flugstad led off the inning with a single through the left side to jump start the offense. Head Coach Colleen Powers put first year Gabby Nordman (Cloquet, Minn. / Denfield) in for Flugstad to run, and she scored easily from second on an RBI single from Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo). Sis showed a high softball IQ on the bases during the play, as she scored from second as well on a throwing error by Shortly to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Wildcats eventually tied the game in the third, as Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson), Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) and Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) loaded the bases with no outs to start the inning. Woebke was the only runner to score in the inning on a RBI fielder's choice from Flugstad to tie the game at 3-3.
Flugstad held the potent St. Thomas offense at bay in the second and third innings with two 1-2-3 innings on the mound. However, the Tommies eventually retook the lead in the fourth after pinch runner Keaira Caldarera scored on a RBI single from catcher Jenna Bromen to give St. Thomas the 4-3 lead.
St. Kate's had the perfect answer in the top of the fifth, as junior shortstop Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) unleashed her inner kraken and hit a monster home run over the center field fence to tie the game at 4-4.
From there, it was almost smooth sailing for the Wildcats. Flugstad sent the Tommies down in order in the fifth then allowed just one baserunner in the sixth to preserve the 4-4 tie. It was the seventh when St. Kate's offense really came to life. Woebke and Montero hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second for the dangerous George, who hit a line drive up the middle to give the Wildcats a 5-4 lead. Then, Macziewski tallied her second RBI of the day with a single to right center, scoring Montero from second to extend the lead to 6-4.
Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) hit in St. Kate's seventh run of the game, as George scored easily from second and Macziewski advanced to third. During Sis' at bat, Macziewski scored on a passed ball to extend the lead to 8-4.
Jessica Eppenberger eventually got out of the inning, but the lead was out of reach for St. Thomas. Flugstad got leadoff hitter Elise Barnes to pop out to center field before Barry grounded out to second base. The final out was caught by sophomore left fielder Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount), who was immediately mugged by teammates celebrating the 8-4 victory.
Flugstad was named Most Outstanding Pitcher of the Super Regional after giving up just five runs to the power-loaded Tommies over two games, while Macziewski was named Most Value Player after going 4-6 with the game tying home run in game two.
With the win, St. Kate's improved to 38-12 and advanced to the Division III Women's College World Series for the first time in program history. The Wildcats will play Illinois Wesleyan at 5 p.m. on Thursday May 25 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's College World Series.
More information about the WCWS will be available Monday, May 22. The five day double elimination tournament will take play May 25-29 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
