WINONA, MINN. – The St. Catherine University softball team has played 12 games in the month of April. Prior to Sunday, all of those games were played on turf, whether it be inside a dome or outside on another field. Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats finally returned to the dirt, and while it wasn't their own home field, they still found quite a bit of success. St. Kate's recorded its fourth consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) sweep on Sunday with 6-1 and 6-4 wins over Saint Mary's University, improving to 8-2 and moving into sole possession of second place in the conference standings.
 
After a month highlighted by turf, domes and snow, the Wildcats were excited to get back to playing softball on dirt and grass, and it certainly showed in their first game against the Cardinals. St. Kate's jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning of game one after Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) scored on a RBI single from first baseman Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo). However, Saint Mary's was able to even the score in the bottom of the inning, as Justine Schultz and Ashley Birkhauser tallied hits off senior ace Krista Flugustad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Of course, the Wildcats certainly weren't done scoring, as they tacked on two runs in the second to take a 3-1 lead over the Cardinals. Center fielder Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) led off the inning with a walk then later scored from second thanks to an RBI double from Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson). Woebke scored St. Kate's second run of the inning thanks to an RBI single from Hinderaker, putting the Wildcats ahead 3-1.
 
A run in the third and two in the sixth resulted in the crooked number six on St. Kate's side of the scoreboard. Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) hit a solo home run in the third to extend the lead to 4-1, while Woebke's two-run shot over the center field fence extended the lead to 6-1 in the sixth. Of course, a 2-1 lead was all Flugstad needed to earn her eighth victory of the season. After the first inning, the senior ace did not allow a single Cardinal hitter to reach base and gave up just three hits, all of which came in the first inning. Junior Hannah Johnson (Milaca, Minn. / Milaca) relieved the dominant Flugstad in the seventh inning, giving up just one hit while preserving the 6-1 victory for the Wildcats.
 
Woebke was the team's top hitter in game one, as she went 3-3 with two doubles and a home run, her best offensive game of the 2018 season. She also became the second player this season to record her 100^th career hit with her home run in the sixth inning. Hinderaker was 3-4 with a run and an RBI to her name.
 
St. Kate's got off to an equally hot start in game two, as the team took a quick 2-0 lead thanks, once again, to Galvez. The junior catcher hit a two-out, two-run blast over the left field fence to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead in game two. However, Saint Mary's once again answered by scoring two runs of its own in the bottom of the first. The Cardinals managed two hits off first year starter Kathryn Proper (St. Paul, Minn. / Como Park) and scored on a pass ball to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the first.
 
Unlike game one, St. Kate's was unable to score in the top of the second, as Saint Mary's starter Amber Chow sent the Wildcats 6-7-8 batters down in order. Sadly, that gave the Cardinals a chance to take their first lead of the afternoon, as they scored two more runs on Proper in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead over St. Kate's. A two-out bases clearing double from Birkhauser officially put Saint Mary's ahead, forcing head coach Colleen Powers to replace Proper with Johnson in the third.
 
Still, the Wildcats continued to chip away at Chow, as Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) and Sis both reached in the third to put runners on second and first with no outs. Unfortunately, St. Kate's was unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity and still trailed 4-2 after three innings.
 
Johnson kept the Cardinal hitters at bay in the third and fourth innings, giving the Wildcats an opportunity to at least tie the ball game in the second half of the game. In the fifth, St. Kate's managed to get within one of Saint Mary's lead, as Emily Saurer (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) scored on Macziewski's line drive up the middle, cutting the lead to 4-3. More impressively, Macziewski tallied the 100^th RBI of her career with the single, making her the first player in program history to record 100 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBI in their career.
 
It was the sixth inning, though, when the Wildcats finally managed to break through. Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) blasted a double to center field, putting a runner in scoring position with no outs in the sixth. She was bunted to third base by Montero and later scored on yet another RBI double from Woebke to even the score at 4-4.
 
St. Kate's went on to score three more runs in the sixth, thanks, in large part, to Alyssa Wicks (Blaine, Minn. / Anoka). The first year showed off her clutch gene by hitting a huge two out single up the middle, scoring pinch runner Bailee Sillman (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / Chippewa Falls) from second to give the Wildcats a 5-4 lead. Two batters later, Macziewski hit another laser down the left field line, resulting in another run and 6-4 St. Kate's lead.
 
After securing the two-run lead, Flugstad did what she does best on the mound and pitched St. Kate's to the 6-4 comeback victory. Like in game one, the senior was pure gold, as she gave up just two hits and zero runs in two innings of relief work. More impressively, Flugstad pitched her way out of a one-out, bases loaded jam she inherited in the fifth and pitched a nearly flawless sixth and seventh en route to her ninth win of the season.
 
Macziewski, George and Sis all went 2-4 at the plate, while Woebke and Hinderaker were both 1-3.
 
Thanks to the MIAC sweep, St. Kate's overall record improves to 15-10, and the team is now 8-2 in conference play. The Wildcats will return to the field on Monday, April 23, when they take on Gustavus Adolphus College at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. in St. Peter, Minnesota.