ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team picked up a pair of big wins last week, and Melissa Seldon had a hand in both wins.
Seldon hit a solo home run Monday to help the Blazers upset No. 12 St. Thomas 2-1, and Thursday afternoon, the sophomore threw a complete game and drove in all the runs CSB would need to defeat Gustavus 4-3. For her big week, Seldon has been named the Blazer Athlete of the Week.
Monday afternoon, Seldon, a Rosemount, Minn., native, got CSB on the board against the Tommies with a solo home run to put the Blazers up 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning. St. Thomas tied the game in the fourth inning, but CSB scored in the bottom of the seventh to pull off the upset. The home run marked the first of the season for Seldon.
Thursday, Gustavus beat the Blazers 8-0 in the first game, and Seldon – who plays both outfield and pitcher for CSB – took the mound for game two. She threw the complete game for CSB and scattered nine hits over seven innings. She gave up three runs and struck out four batters to help the Blazers pick up the 4-3 victory.
Seldon also helped her cause at the plate. Saint Benedict went up 1-0 in the second inning thanks to a solo homer from Sara Wennerstrand, but the Gusties tied the game in the top of the third. In the bottom of the fifth, Wennerstrand singled and Becky Gigstad doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. Seldon came up and sent in both runs on a two-run triple, and she ended up scoring the game-winning run when she advanced to home on a Gustavus error.
Seldon has 12 hits and is second on the team with 15 RBIs so far this season. She has three doubles and two triples. On the mound, Seldon is 1-2 in five appearances. She has nine strikeouts in 18.1 innings of work.
The Blazers, who are 13-9 overall and 2-2 in the MIAC, is on the road Wednesday, April 8, when it travels to Arden Hills, Minn., to take on Bethel in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader.
