Let's Get Funky: The softball Gods aren't making it easy for any games to be played this year but the College of Saint Benedict softball team is figuring it out anyways. After playing St. Catherine's Thursday, the Blazers will continue a stretch of eight games in four days as they make a push for a playoff run when they travel to Northfield, Minn. to take on St. Olaf. The first bit of action of the doubleheader will start at 3:30 p.m. and the second will follow at 5:30 p.m. Following that, the Blazers will play at rival Saint Thomas on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The final series of the regular season will take place the next day, Sunday, at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. when they take on Gustavus in St. Peter.
A Little About St. Olaf: Wins have come few and far between for the Oles as they are currently in dead last in the MIAC with an 0-4 conference record and 5-11 overall. Hitting has been decent for St. Olaf as they are batting .279 as a team but they simply have not been able to manufacture runs. They have scored a total of 53 runs in their 16 games yet that is even slightly inflated as they had an 11-10 loss midway through the season to Loras College. They have been shut out three times this season and been held to three or fewer runs 12 times. Recently they played the MIAC leader, St. Thomas, and despite losing twice they played very tight games, losing 3-1 and 2-0. The defense for St. Olaf has been outstanding as they have a team fielding percentage of .953. Over half the team has a batting average over .300 so hitting will be plenty in this matchup.
A Little About St. Thomas: The Tommies are currently leading the MIAC as they are undefeated in conference play, 12-0. Quite simply, they are doing everything right. The team as a whole is batting .345 with 181 RBI. Most notably they have McKenzie Wergin and Kimmy Hassel who are batting .429 and .422 respectively with Emily Gregory right on their heels batting .412. They have nine batters with averages that are above .300 and a handful of role players with impressive averages as well. Their pitching has also been stellar. The team has a total ERA of 1.83 with six different pitchers that have started games. Their “ace” is Kendra Bowe who has an ERA of 1.63 in 68.2 innings pitched while appearing in 19 games total. They also have Breezy Bannon who has started six games while compiling an impressive ERA of 0.86. The most telling stat of their dominance is in the earned run averages. They have an ERA of 1.83 and their opponents have a 5.46.
A Little About Gustavus: Gustavus is in the same position as the Blazers as they are currently in the middle of the pack of the playoff race. Despite having a rough looking overall record, 5-10, the Gusties are 2-2 in conference play which keeps them in the hunt. The Gusties are essentially middle of the pack in every category. Offensively they are batting .266 yet only have two long balls and 42 RBI. Their pitching has been a Jekyll and Hyde type story this year for the Gusties. Sarah Rozell, who has pitched in nine games and started seven logging a total ERA of 2.45 and 38 strikeouts over 51.1 innings. Her counterpart hasn't done so well, though. Kate Rentschler has also appeared in nine games and started eight games but has an ERA of 5.43. She has eaten up 38.2 innings and actually has one shutout this year but she has seen some rough innings.
The Storyline: This is the time of the nitty gritty for the Blazers. For every one of these last doubleheaders it is of the utmost importance that they win. The Blazers are right in the thick of things and with the new playoff style it is even more important to win each series as this could give them a higher seed. All teams make the playoffs because of the new system but the seeding is incredibly important. They are tied with Carleton and Gustavus in conference play, and therefore playing Gustavus this weekend will be huge because a win will not only put them ahead but put the Gusties down as well.
Who to Watch: First year middle infielder
Kim Lidstone is on an absolute tear. Last week she was named MIAC player of the week after batting .565 through six games. Her season average is .470 but astonishingly enough her stats actually increase as she faces conference competition where she bats .491. Lidstone has been putting on a show every time she laces up the cleats as she has scored as least one run in 14 of the last 16 games and recently capped a streak of stealing a base in seven straight. She also is currently on a 29-game hitting streak which is perhaps the most impressive of all. She is simply unstoppable and the Blazers will need her to continue if they plan on moving forward.
