ROSEVILLE, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team was itching for its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) sweep of the season on Thursday. With the sun shining and a breeze blowing, the Wildcats were hoping their first outdoor games in Minnesota would yield positive results for their overall and conference record. St. Kate's prevailed for yet another split in MIAC play, winning the opener 4-2 in 11 innings before dropping the second by a final score of 4-3.
 
The Wildcats got off to a hot start in both games one and two, as they took an early 2-0 lead in both games. In the opener, St. Kate's jumped ahead 1-0 in the second inning, as Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) scored on a two-out single by Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) to give the Wildcats the first lead of the afternoon. Two innings later, Sis scored St. Kate's second run of the ballgame, this time on an RBI fielder's choice by Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field), to extend St. Kate's lead to 2-0.
 
However, Bethel answered by scoring two runs of its own in the bottom of that very inning. Three-hole hitter Wendy Roberts led off the inning with a double off senior pitcher Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson), who seemingly got out of the jam by getting the next two Royal batters to line out to Woebke and Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson). Allie Fauth, though, extended the inning with a single to left center before Hannah Schmidt tied the game at 2-2 with a double to deep left center.
 
After the Royals scoring barrage in the fourth, neither team was able to score in the remaining three innings of play, despite multiple opportunities. The Wildcats put runners on in the fifth and sixth innings, but no one was able to cross the plate for the third run of the game. Flugstad, meanwhile, managed to hold the Bethel hitters at bay through the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, allowing just two Royal runners to reach base in the final two innings.
 
However, the same could not be said in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for St. Kate's. The Wildcats went down in order all three innings, giving the Royals ample opportunity to win the game outright in the bottom of the respective inning. Twice, it looked like Bethel was about to win the game, as it put runners in scoring position with one or no outs in both the eighth and tenth innings. Woebke gunned the runner down at home to preserve the 2-2 tie in the eighth, while Flugstad, Galvez and Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) entrapped the runner in a run down to keep it tied in the bottom of the tenth.
 
It was the 11th inning when the Wildcats finally managed to break through and take their 4-2 lead. Due to MIAC rules, a runner, specifically Jianna Lemaire (New Brighton, Minn. / Irondale), was placed at second to follow the international run rule. Sis then reached base on a walk, putting runners at first and second with no outs on the board. Fortunately, St. Kate's was able to bring both runners around, as Galvez delivered the big RBI double, scoring Lemaire and Sis to put the Wildcats up 4-2.
 
Flugstad was gold in the bottom of the 11^th inning, as was shortstop Macziewski, who made two outstanding plays at shortstop to keep the Royals off the bases and obtain the 4-2 victory for St. Kate's. She and fellow seniors Sis and Woebke all went 2-4 at the plate in game one and scored a combined three runs in the opening game of the day.
 
Flugstad earned her fourth win of the season, giving up just two runs in 11 innings of work.
 
Things got off to a good start for the Wildcats in game two, as Macziewski hit a monster home run over the left field fence to give her team an early 1-0 lead. However, despite putting runners on base in the second and third inning, St. Kate's failed to cross the plate for its second run of the game. The Wildcats did eventually manage to score in the fourth, as Macziewski scored on an RBI single by George to extend the lead to 2-0.
 
It looked like the 2-0 lead might be all that was necessary for first year pitcher Kathryn Proper (St. Paul, Minn. / Como Park). The first year pitcher was dealing through the first half of the game, as she had a no hitter going through the first three innings of play. Bethel eventually did manage to break through and tally a hit, but Proper used her defense to get out of every jam she faced.
 
St. Kate's tacked on, what appeared to be, an insurance run in the top of the sixth. George opened the inning with a single and was later replaced by the speedy Lemaire on the base paths. Lemaire reached second on a wild pitch, then advanced to third on another single by Woebke. However, it was once again a clutch play by Galvez that extended the lead to 3-0. The junior catcher laid down the perfect squeeze bunt as Lemaire soared in from third to extend the Wildcats lead to 3-0.
 
Unfortunately, the sixth inning is also when things fell apart for St. Kate's, as the Royals scored four runs on four hits and an error to take a 4-3 lead. Proper gave up two singles and a walk to open the inning to load the bases with no outs, prompting head coach Colleen Powers to put Hannah Johnson (Milaca, Minn. / Milaca) in to pitch. The junior managed to get the first out, a soft pop up back to the pitcher, and seemed to have the second, as Bethel's five hitter hit a sky-high pop up to Galvez for the second out of the ball game.
 
However, that was where things started to go wrong very quickly. Galvez dropped the pop up, but the batter was called out at first for an infield fly. In the chaos and shuffle, the runner from third sprinted home, cutting the Wildcats lead to 3-1 with two outs and runners on second and third. It was still a manageable situation, but a three-run home run to the next batter put the Royals ahead for good 4-3.
 
Proper suffered her second straight loss in MIAC play, as she gave up three runs on four hits in four five innings of work. George went 2-3 at the plate, while Macziewski was 2-4 with an RBI and a run.
 
With the split, St. Kate's overall record falls to 9-10 with a 2-2 mark in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to the field on Saturday, when they "host" Macalester College at 6:30 p.m. at the Augsburg Dome.