TYLER, TEXAS – The St. Catherine University softball team has never been short of heart and resiliency. Monday evening, both qualities were on full display, as the Wildcats earned a hard fought split with Mary-Hardin-Baylor. Despite losing the first game of the doubleheader 9-2, St. Kate's rebounded for a big 4-1 game two victory, snapping its three game losing skid while beating one of the top teams in the nation in the process.
 
The Wildcats got off to a hot start in the opening game, as they took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Junior left fielder Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) opened the inning with a leadoff single and scored from second on Kylie Macziewski's (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) RBI double to give St. Kate's the early 1-0 lead.
 
Through the first three innings, it looked like that one early run would be enough for the Wildcats. Sophomore pitcher Maddie Greer (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) was dealing from the circle and managed to no-hit the Cru through the first three innings of play. Unfortunately, in the top of the fourth, Mary-Hardin-Baylor broke through, scoring its first run of the game off two hits to even the score at 1-1.
 
St. Kate's tried to answer with runs of its own in the bottom of the same inning. Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) opened the inning with a single up the middle, and Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) followed that up with her second walk of the game to put runners on first and second with no outs. Sadly, the Wildcats were unable to bring either runner around, leaving the score knotted at 1-1 after the fourth inning of play.
 
On the flip side, the Cru weren't done scoring, as they tacked on four more runs in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead over St. Kate's. After Greer gave up a single to the leadoff batter, head coach Colleen Powers opted to put first year Kathryn Proper (St. Paul, Minn. / Como Park) in for Greer to get out of the jam. Proper settled in, but not before giving up a double and a home run, allowing Mary-Hardin-Baylor to take a 5-1 lead over the Wildcats.
 
Again, St. Kate's put together a rally in the sixth inning but was unable to cross the plate. Macziewski and George's singles put runners on base with, once again, less than two outs on the board. Both Macziewski and George were stranded at their respective base though, resulting in the four run deficit at the end of the sixth.
 
Still, there was a chance for a seventh inning rally if St. Kate's could keep the score at 5-1 after the top of the seventh. Unfortunately, the Cru put a halt to any thoughts of a comeback, as they scored four more runs in the top of the seventh to take a 9-1 lead. However, the Wildcats still got a small two out rally going in the bottom of the seventh as Hinderaker, again, scored on a Macziewski single to cut the lead to 9-2.
 
Unfortunately, the rally ended after Macziewski's RBI single, resulting in the 9-2 loss in game one.  However, the tides turned in St. Kate's favor in game two, as the team earned the split with a resounding 4-1 win over the Cru. The win was propelled by the Wildcats big second inning, in which they scored four runs on five hits and one Mary-Hardin-Baylor error.
 
It all started with the dangerous bat of George. The junior launched her first home run of the season into the stratosphere, putting St. Kate's ahead 1-0 in the top of the second inning. Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) kept the good times rolling with a double to left field, while Alyssa Wicks (Blaine, Minn. / Anoka) drew a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs.
 
From there, the opportunistic Wildcats took advantage of a Cru fielding error to load the bases. Pinch runner Jianna Lemaire (New Brighton, Minn. / Irondale) was called out at home on the ensuing play, but Hinderaker's double scored both Wicks and Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson), while Emily Saurer (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) scored on Amber Montero's (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) RBI single to put St. Kate's ahead 4-0.
 
Turns out, that four run lead was all the Wildcats would need to provide for Flugstad, who had her best outing of the season Monday afternoon. The senior ace gave up just one run on three hits in seven innings of work, striking out four Cru batters to earn her fourth win of the season. Her defense also backed her up, as St. Kate's did not commit a single error in the second game of the series.
 
Macziewski was the team's best hitter on the day, as she went 6-7 at the plate with three RBI. George was 2-2 at the plate with a home run in game two while Montero went 2-4 at the plate.
 
With the 4-1 game two win, the Wildcats managed to split their series against Mary-Hardin-Baylor, improving their overall record to 6-8. St. Kate's will take Tuesday off before returning to take on Mount St. Mary's at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28.