ST. PAUL, Minn. - In the final regular season conference doubleheader, St. Catherine softball dropped two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) games to No. 2 University of St. Thomas. St. Kate's fell in the first game by two runs with St. Thomas winning 4-2. The second game resulted in a 9-3 victory for St. Thomas to finish the conference season 16-6 advancing to the conference playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. 

The MIAC has announced St. Thomas, St. Catherine, and St. Olaf will all appear in the 2019 Playoff Championships as one spot remains. The two teams battling for the No. 4 spot are Saint Benedict and Hamline, as the Pipers have 4 conference games to play with a record of 12-5. 

Game 1 | St. Catherine 2, St. Thomas 4
Junior catcher, Autumn Mortenson gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead in the top of the second inning with a single to right center bringing in rookie Kaitlyn Backman and senior Trish Sherman. Mortenson was 2-3 tallying both of the Wildcats RBIs.

The Tommies scored two runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning and one more in the bottom of the sixth for the final game one score of 2-4. 

Sophomore Kathryn Proper was in the circle for the Wildcats pitching 6 innings allowing 4 runs off of 9 hits and 2 strikeouts. 

Game 2 | St. Catherine 3, St. Thomas 9
Ehde became the conference leader for at-bat appearances in game two while leading the Wildcats going 3-3 with 3 RBI. The first-year shortstop has been at the plate 139 times this season with an on-base percentage of .401. 

St. Kate's found themselves down two runs in the top of the first inning. Ehde drove in senior Anna Hinderaker with a hit to left center to cut the lead in the top of the 3rd inning for a score of 2-1. 

Ehde tallied her other 2 RBIs in top of the 5th inning with a hit to center field bringing in rookie Lindsay Burr and sophomore Alyssa Wicks. 

The Tommies scores a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings and a trio of runs in the bottom of the 6th. 

First-year Annabelle Schutte was in the circle for 5.1 innings allowing 9 runs on 13 hits. 

Hinderaker, sophomore Mikayla Grant, Wicks and Burr all hit doubles in game two tallying 9 hits overall as a team in 28 at-bats. 

The Wildcats host non-conference opponent Wartburg College on Tuesday, April 30 at St. Kate's Field. The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3:30 pm. 

The Wildcats will wait to learn their seeding fate until Hamline completes their season on Monday. Visit the MIAC 2019 Softball Playoff Site for more information on the championship with the first round starting Friday, May 3.