ST. PAUL, MINN. – Qualifying for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) postseason is starting to become status quo for the St. Catherine University softball team. The Wildcats qualified for the tournament for the third consecutive season, thanks to their split with No. 7 University of St. Thomas on Saturday. On Sunday, St. Kate's solidified its place in the top-3 in the conference standings thanks to two shutout victories over Hamline University Sunday afternoon.
 
The Wildcats, specifically Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) were nearly perfect in the opening 3-0 win over the Pipers. The senior ace came within an out of recording the second perfect game of her career Sunday afternoon, as she did not allow a single Hamline batter to reach base in 6.2 innings of work. Flugstad also received plenty of support from her offense, as St. Kate's once again held a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning. Once again, it was Jenna George (Ellsworth, Wis. / Ellsworth) who gave the Wildcats the one run advantage, as she hit her fourth home run of the weekend to give St. Kate's the 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
 
That one turned out to be all Flugstad needed, but the Wildcats gave her a 3-0 buffer in the top of the sixth. Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) opened the inning with a leadoff single and scored thanks to an RBI single from designated player Alyssa Wicks (Blaine, Minn. / Anoka). St. Kate's then proceeded to load the bases, allowing Wicks to score from third on an RBI walk by Claire Woebke (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) to extend the lead to 3-0.
 
Flugstad was dealing from the circle in the bottom of the sixth, as she sent the Pipers seven-eight-nine batters down in order to set up a showdown with the top of the order in the seventh inning. The senior got the first two outs with ease, as she got Hamline leadoff batter to pop out to Woebke at second and fielded out two with a grounder back to the pitcher. Unfortunately, Flugstad saw her chance at perfection end with the very next batter, as Aubrey Douglas singled up the middle to end both the perfect game and no hitter bids.
 
Flugstad, though, got the next batter to strike out swinging to end the game. Thanks to the 3-0 win, the senior is now 14-3 this season, with all 14 of her wins coming in MIAC play. She also holds the second-lowest ERA in the conference and is second in strikeouts vs. MIAC opponents.
 
Things went just as smoothly for St. Kate's in game two, as the team earned its second shutout victory 4-0 over the Pipers. Like in game one, the Wildcats scored two early runs in the top of the first, as Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) scored on an RBI single by, who else, George. The run served as the 100th of her career, making Hinderaker just the second student-athlete in program history to hit the 100 career runs mark. Macziewski also scored during the inning, as a fielder's choice from Flugstad allowed the speedy shortstop to score from third to give St. Kate's the early 2-0 lead.
 
Like in the first game, the 2-0 lead was all the Wildcats needed to provide for first year pitcher Kathryn Proper (St. Paul, Minn. / Como Park), who surrendered just four hits and two walks while striking out five in seven innings of work. However, that didn't stop St. Kate's from trying to score more runs throughout the game. The Wildcats put at least one runner on base in five of the remaining six innings but were unable to bring the runners home. That all changed in the top of the seventh, when St. Kate's scored two runs on four hits to extend the lead to 4-0. Like in the first, it was Flugstad who provided the RBI single, allowing George and pinch runner Sam Skwarek (St. Anthony, Minn. / St. Anthony) to score to boost the Wildcats lead to 4-0.
 
Hamline did threaten several times throughout the game, including the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings. Until the fifth inning, Proper was dishing from the circle, as she allowed just four Piper runners to reach base on three hits and an error. However, the first year ran into some trouble in the fifth, as she found herself with runners on first and third with two outs. Proper, though, remained calm and got the next batter to ground out to end the inning.
 
Hamline again threatened in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out hit and walk by the seven and eight batters. Again, Proper took care of business, getting the Pipers nine batter to strikeout swinging before getting a fly out to Macziewski at short to end the game.
 
George was once again gold for the Wildcats at the plate, as she went 1-3 with a home run in game one and 3-4 with a run and RBI in game two. Amber Montero (Circle Pines, Minn. / Centennial) was 2-3 in game two, while Woebke went 1-2 with an RBI walk in game one.
 
With the sweep, St. Kate's overall record improves to 24-11 and the team is now 17-2 in MIAC play. The Wildcats also clinched either the No. 2 or 3 seed in the MIAC playoffs, as St. Kate's cannot finish lower than third place in the conference standings. The Wildcats will play in their final doubleheader of the season on Tuesday, May 1, when they host the College of Saint Benedict at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. at St. Kate's.