Week 1 Practice Video

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – In 2014, the College of Saint Benedict softball team put together its best season in more than 10 years.
 
The Blazers finished the season 28-11 overall and 15-7 and in third place in the MIAC – their best conference finish since taking second in 2004.
 
In her third season at the helm, head coach Rachael Click is looking to take that success and expand on it even further. Click is 48-29 in her first two seasons with the Blazers, and has won at least 20 games each year. The Blazers' quest for a third-straight 20-win season starts Saturday, Feb. 14, when they host UW-Stout in a nonconference doubleheader. The first game starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Husky Dome on the St. Cloud State University campus in St. Cloud, Minn.
 
The 2015 Saint Benedict roster looks very different than the roster that helped the Blazers win 28 games in 2014. CSB graduated six seniors from last season, and heads into 2015 with 12 first years on its roster. Four juniors, two seniors and one sophomore make up the remainder of the roster.
 
"Our team is very young, but they have proven to be very hard workers and are all very athletic," Click said. "I have high expectations from this group, and am confident they will make an impact from Day 1.
 
"There is always a bit of adjustment from high school to college. Despite some of the differences, I keep reminding our first years that it is still the same game. It's still softball, something you've been playing your whole life."
 
The biggest question mark for CSB heading into the new season is its pitching staff. All three pitchers on the roster are first years who will be thrown into the mix right away for the Blazers. Kiela DeVlaeminck, Taylor Ellingson and Cassie Meyer will all vie for time on the mound and look to adjust quickly to college softball.
 
"Our pitching staff is our biggest unknown right now, not because they are not capable, but simply because we haven't seen them pitch in a college game," Click said. "With the help of our pitching coach Mike Smith, our pitchers have been making significant improvements in a very short time. I am looking forward to seeing them compete this weekend."
 
Saint Benedict is also looking to replace outfielder Lexi Alm, who was named the MIAC Player of the Year, earned All-MIAC First Team honors, All-Region First Team honors and was named NFCA Second Team All-American. She graduated with seven school records.
 
The Blazers aren't without experience in 2015, however. Returning for CSB is junior Kim Lidstone, who earned All-MIAC First Team and All-Region Second Team honors as a sophomore, and senior Mackenzie Wenner, who earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention last season.
 
Lidstone batted .421 and tied with Alm for a team-high 56 hits in 2014. Wenner batted .313 and had 24 RBIs.
 
CSB started the 2014 season with a sweep of Stout at the Husky Dome. The Blazers won 3-2 and 4-2 before heading to Florida for their spring break trip. CSB went 9-2 in Florida and won 13 of its first 15 games to start the season. The Blazers also won 11 of their last 12 games, including six straight, to end the regular season heading into the conference tournament.
 
"My expectation for this year's team is to come together as skilled softball players in order to grow and improve as a team, and become one of the top teams in the MIAC," Lidstone said. "This year's team contains a lot of new members and teammates who have never played together, so the first step will be to overcome the difficulty of new teammates. From there, I am expecting that we find success through the skill and abilities the team has."