ROCHESTER, MINN. – Anticipation. Excitement. High Expectations. These are the words surrounding the St. Catherine University softball team's season opening games at the Rochester Community Technical College Dome in Rochester, Minnesota. Unfortunately, the Wildcats hit a bit of a speed bump in their first game of the day, losing to the University of Wisconsin-Stout in the season opener 9-8. However, St. Kate's rebounded with a big 10-6 win over Nebraska Wesleyan, leaving the dome with a 1-1 record.
Despite scoring eight runs and accumulating 13 hits, the Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Blue Devils. St. Kate's was cruising, though, through the first four innings of play. In fact, the Wildcats looked to be in control as
Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) scored in the very first inning to give St. Kate's the early 1-0 lead.
While UW-Stout tied the game in the very next inning, the Wildcats tacked on three more runs in the third, as Hinderaker,
Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) and
Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) all crossed the plate to regain a comfortable 4-1 lead for St. Kate's. However, the second time through the order, the Blue Devils had senior ace
Krista Flugstad's (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) number, as they evened the score with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth.
Still, the Wildcats didn't panic. Instead, they simply scored four unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings. While St. Kate's was busy scoring, its defense was busy holding UW-Stout scoreless, meaning the team held an 8-4 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning.
That's when things took a turn for the worst. The Blue Devils scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth on four hits and two Wildcat errors to take a 9-8 lead with one inning remaining. In the top of the seventh,
Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) did manage to get on base with a single up the middle, but no one could bring her home, resulting in the 9-8 loss to open the season.
Things went much better in the second game of the day, as St. Kate's cruised to a 10-6 lead over Nebraska Wesleyan. Still, the Wildcats found themselves down 1-0 early, as the Prairie Wolves scored the first run of the game off sophomore pitcher
Maddie Greer (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) in the second inning. However, St. Kate's answered in the best way possible: the team scored nine runs of its own in the bottom of the third. Hinderaker got things started with a single after
Trish Sherman (Roseville, Minn. / Roseville) was out on a hard grounder to third base and scored on an RBI single by Montero to tie the game at 1-1.
After Montero's single, the Wildcats offense could not be maintained. George and
Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) drew back-to-back walks to load the bases with two outs before
Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) delivered a clutch single to score Montero and pinch runner
Bailee Sillman (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / Chippewa Falls). From there, the hits just kept coming, as Flugstad and
Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) both recorded RBI singles to extend St. Kate's lead to6-1.
In total, the Wildcats scored nine runs in the inning and led 9-1 at the end of the third. While Nebraska Wesleyan would go on to score five runs in the remaining four innings, it wasn't enough to threaten St. Kate's lead. In fact, the Wildcats tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, just to be on the safe side, and won their first game of the season by a final score of 10-6.
Hinderaker was outstanding for St. Kate's in both games, as she went a combined 5-8 at the plate with five runs and two walks. Macziewski had a nice day at the plate as well, as she went a combined 4-6 and reached base in six of her nine plate appearances.
With the split, the Wildcats open the season with a 1-1 record. St. Kate's will return to the RCTC Dome on Sunday to take on UW-Eau Claire at 11 a.m. and Carroll University at 3 p.m.
