TUCSON, ARIZ. – The St. Catherine University softball team hit a bit of a snag on the final day of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) DIII Leadoff Classic. After two commanding wins on Saturday, the Wildcats were hoping to close the tournament with another perfect 2-0 day. Alas, it was not meant to be, as walks proved costly in St. Kate's 5-4 loss to Birmingham-Southern College and 11-3 loss to the Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) Sunday afternoon.
 
The Wildcats learned the hard way that walks do haunt in both their losses Sunday afternoon. In fact, St. Kate's allowed a combined 17 walks over 13 innings of play. In game on against Birmingham-Southern, though, the Wildcats offense almost made up for it, as St. Kate's led 4-1 after three innings of play. After giving up the initial run to the Panthers in the bottom of the first inning, the Wildcats went on to score three unanswered runs in the third inning alone. St. Kate's took advantage of two Birmingham-Southern errors in the inning, as Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) and Trish Sherman (Roseville, Minn. / Roseville) both reached base thanks to Panther errors.  Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount), Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) and Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) recorded RBIs in the following at bats to put the Wildcats ahead 3-1 after three innings of play.
 
St. Kate's extended its lead in the following offensive inning, as Sherman hit her first home run of the season to put the Wildcats ahead 4-1. Unfortunately, St. Kate's wouldn't score again for the remainder of the game, and a two run-fifth by Birmingham-Southern tied the game at 4-4. After giving up one run in the initial inning, senior Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) cruised through the second and third before giving up a run in the bottom of the fourth. However, there was no need for Flugstad or the Wildcats to panic, as they were ahead 4-2 with two innings remaining in regulation.
 
Unfortunately, the Panthers had a different idea, as they scored two runs in the fifth to tie the game at 4-4. While St. Kate's had ample opportunities to take the lead in the remaining innings, the team was never able to cross the plate for a fifth time, allowing Birmingham-Southern the chance to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh. First year Kathryn Proper (St. Paul, Minn. / Como Park) looked like she was going to keep the Panther hitters at bay, but a costly error on a bunt followed by a single gave Birmingham-Southern the walk off 5-4 win.  
 
Walks also proved costly in the Wildcats 11-3 loss to the Engineers. St. Kate's gave up just one hit through the first three innings but gave up four runs on five consecutive walks, allowing MIT to take a 4-0 lead. Unfortunately, the Engineers piled on four more runs in the fourth inning after the top three batters drew walks to load the bases with no outs.
 
Down 8-0 after four innings, the Wildcats needed to score at least one in the bottom of the fifth to extend the game. St. Kate's did just that, only instead of scoring one, the team scored three thanks to Sis' three-run home run to left field. With the bases cleared, it looked like the Wildcats were going to continue their rally, as Mikayla Grant (Mantorville, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) and Flugstad were both hit by pitches to put runners on first and second with two outs. After a 10 pitch at-bat, Galvez also reached on a walk to load the bases for St. Kate's.
 
Head coach Colleen Powers opted to pinch hit Alyssa Wicks (Blaine, Minn. / Anoka) with the bases loaded situation. The first year lefty battled in the at bat and eventually made solid contact with the ball. Unfortunately, it went right into the waiting glove of the Engineers waiting short stop, halting the Wildcats rally at three runs.
 
Still, if St. Kate's managed to hold MIT during the sixth inning, it would only trail 8-3 with two innings left at the plate. Sadly, Maddie Greer (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and Flugstad were unable to hold the Engineers powerful bats at bay. MIT answered the Wildcats rally by scoring three runs of its own in the top of the sixth, extending the lead back to eight runs at 11-3. Unfortunately, St. Kate's wasn't able to counter in the bottom of the sixth, falling by a final score of 11-3.
 
With the two losses, the Wildcats overall record falls to 5-5. The team will take two weeks off before hosting Wartburg College in its first home game of the season on March 20.