GAME ONE | St. Catherine 8, Fitchburg State 0 (5 innings)
In the first game, the Wildcats got a dominant effort from Taylor Graf in the circle and timely production throughout the lineup to earn the shutout win. St. Catherine was held scoreless in the first, but broke through in the second inning after Lexi Drasher drew a leadoff walk and Sam Aronson and Annie Cook followed with back-to-back singles. After a fielder's choice at the plate kept the inning alive, Helen McKinnon came through with a two-run single to put the Wildcats in front.

St. Catherine added three more runs in the fourth. Aronson singled to start the inning and later scored when McKinnon tripled. Two batters later, Faith Bonse drove in two more with a triple to right, stretching the lead to 5-0. The Wildcats closed it out with three more runs in the fifth. Layla Nguyen led off with a single, stole second, and scored later in the inning. Ann Swigart also came around to score, and McKinnon capped her standout game with a two-run double to seal the 8-0 run-rule victory.

McKinnon led the offense in the opener, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and five RBI. Bonse added two hits and two RBI, while Aronson collected two hits and scored twice. Larson also had two hits, and Nguyen made the most of her chance off the bench with a hit, a run scored, and a stolen base. Graf was in control from start to finish, tossing a one-hit shutout over five innings with four strikeouts and two walks.

GAME TWO | Muskigum 16, St. Catherine 8 (5 innings)
St. Catherine struck first with three runs in the opening inning. McKinnon started the game with a double and scored on a wild pitch. Grace Swigart later singled home Mayci Larson, and Lucy Mansell reached on an error that allowed another run to score as the Wildcats grabbed a 3-0 lead.

Muskingum answered with four runs in the bottom of the first, but St. Catherine responded right away in the second with another big inning. G. Swigart singled, Bonse reached on an error that brought home a run, and Larson delivered the biggest swing of the frame with a two-run home run to left. Later in the inning, Cook lined an RBI double to center to score Annika Reid and give the Wildcats an 8-4 advantage.

The Muskies kept coming, though, scoring four runs in the second to tie it and then six more in the third to take control. Muskingum added two in the fourth to finish off the scoring. St. Catherine still produced 12 hits in the game, including multi-hit efforts from McKinnon, G. Swigart, Larson, A. Swigart, and Cook, but Muskingum's 16-hit attack and a handful of costly defensive miscues turned the momentum.

Larson led the Wildcats in the second game by going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. McKinnon scored twice and went 2-for-4 with  double, while G. Swigart also finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. Cook went 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI, and a walk. Ann Swigart added two hits and an RBI, and Chance Colbert chipped in a hit as part of the offensive effort.

Across the two games, St. Catherine combined for 16 runs on 23 hits led by McKinnon going 5 for 8 with three runs, seven RBI, two doubles and a triple. G. Swigart went 4 for 6 with two runs, one RBI and one walk as Larson was 4 for 7 with two runs, three RBI and a homer followed by Bonse hitting 3 for 6 with one run, two RBI, one triple and a walk. 

St. Kate's faces Rivier University and Saint Mary's College (Indiana) on Wednesday for their second day of the Space Coast Games in Melbourne.