NORTHFIELD, MINN. – After nearly three full weeks of playing in domes and on turf football fields, the spring finally seems here to stay for the St. Catherine University softball team. However, with the first signs of a permanent spring blooming, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) season is in its final full week of play, and the Wildcats have a busy week ahead of them, starting with Thursday afternoon's doubleheader against St. Olaf College.
 
There are very few things the senior class at St. Kate's has not accomplished in its four years with the program, but a sweep of St. Olaf is one of those things. The Wildcats hope to do that on Thursday, as they take on the Oles at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. in Northfield, Minnesota.
 
Fans who cannot attend the game in person can follow along online via St. Olaf's live video stream. Otherwise, score updates will be made when available on St. Kate's official Twitter page (@stkateswildcats).
 
Here are the five things to know before first pitch between the Wildcats and Oles:
 
6 – Due to the delayed spring and impact of weather, the MIAC has changed its format for the 2018 softball playoffs. Rather than the traditional four team, double-elimination format, the tournament this year will feature the top-6 teams in the conference standings and two single-elimination playoff games. The single play-in games are scheduled for Thursday, May 3, with the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed. The winners of the play-in games will advance to the conference tournament, which will then return to its double-elimination format, hosted by the No. 1 seed.
 
4 – Four Wildcats reached significant milestones over the course of the weekend, three of whom were seniors. St. Kate's senior Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) became the first pitcher in program history to eclipse the 500 career strikeouts mark, while Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) also recorded a program first. With her RBI single in game two at Saint Mary's, Macziewski became the first player in program history to record 100 career hits, 100 career runs and 100 career RBI. She also broke the school record for career at bats in the doubleheader against Concordia College. Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) and Sammie Galvez (Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field) both hit the 100 career hits milestone over the weekend as well.
 
.571 – First year designated player Alyssa Wicks (Blaine, Minn. / Anoka) had a weekend to remember, as she played a significant role in St. Kate's wins over the Cardinals and Gustavus. In the Wildcats 6-4 comeback win at Saint Mary's, Wicks hit what turned out to be the game-winning RBI single to put the team ahead 5-4 in the top of the sixth inning. She then went 3-4 in game two against the Gusties for a weekend batting average of .571. So far this season, Wicks is batting .409 with nine hits in 22 at bats.
 
10 – St. Kate's and St. Olaf both enter Thursday afternoon's doubleheader riding a 10-game winning streak. Since losing to Bethel on April 12, the Wildcats have won 10 straight conference games, including eight in five days last weekend. The Oles, on the flip side, also have not lost since April 12, when they split their MIAC doubleheader with Augsburg University.
 
273 – Thursday's doubleheader will most likely feature a pitcher's duel between Flugstad and Julie Graf, two of the top pitchers in the MIAC this season. The two pitchers have tallied a combined 273 strikeouts this season, with Graf accounting for a conference-leading 210 of those. The two pitchers also have two of the lowest ERA's in conference play. Flugstad's .69 ERA vs. MIAC opponents is currently second in the league, while Graf's 1.53 ERA ranks fifth.