The CSB softball team came up on the losing end in both games Wednesday afternoon against Hamline University.  The College of Saint Benedict Blazers held a lead in both games but were unable to hang on as they fell to 8-10 in MIAC action.  The Pipers benefited from three homeruns on the day and swept the Blazers (8-10 MIAC, 12-18 overall) 6-3, 6-4.

The Blazers got on the board first in Game 1 with three straight singles in the top of the first inning.  Jillian Rigg (Billings, MT, Central Catholic) started the rally for CSB with a single off the top of third base. The next batter, Genna Strauss (Red Wing, MN, Red Wing) singled to left to move Rigg to second.  Then Elle Borba (Ontario, CA, St. Lucy's Priory) knocked in Rigg to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead.  However, the Pipers answered quickly in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homerun off the bat of Erin Farley.  Trailing 4-1 after five complete innings, the Blazers rallied in the top of the sixth by scoring two runs to cut the Pipers' lead to 4-3.  Again CSB got three straight singles from Rigg, Strauss, and Borba in the inning.  Borba knocked in Rigg with an RBI single down the left field line, and sophomore Devin Bowlin (Winona, MN, Winona Cotter) had an RBI groundout that scored Strauss.  The Blazers rally came up short, and Hamline added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to put CSB away.

Strauss led the CSB offense in Game 1 by going 3-for-3 with a run scored.  Strauss is now hitting an impressive .415 on the season.  Rigg went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Borba was 2-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs.

In Game 2, the Blazers jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a three run third inning.  A double off the bat of Rigg scored two runs and Strauss added a sacrifice fly to score Rigg.  The Pipers answered again with a three run fourth inning of their own to tie the game up.  Hamline added two more homeruns, one in the fifth inning and one in the sixth inning, to take a 6-3 advantage into the last inning.  In the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Abby Richardson (Storm Lake, IA, St. Mary's) blasted a ball to deep left center field for a solo homerun, but the next two batters were retired an the Blazers were handed their third straight conference loss.

Alyssa Kubesh (Buffalo Lake, MN, Buffalo Lake-Hector) was the only Blazer with multiple hits in Game 2 as she went 2-for-3.  Richardson scored two runs for CSB, and Rigg drove in two runs.

The Blazers will host Bethel University on Friday, April 24 in a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.
 
Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score