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ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After nearly three weeks off, the College of Saint Benedict softball team is ready to hit the field again.
 
The Blazers, whose last game was Saturday, March 7 in Clermont, Fla., travel to Iowa this weekend for four nonconference games as part of a tournament hosted by Simpson and Central colleges. CSB takes on Simpson in a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday, March 27, in Indianola, Iowa, and then plays St. Norbert at 11 a.m. and Central at 1 p.m. Saturday in Pella, Iowa.
 
Saint Benedict is 9-5 overall and on a five-game winning streak. After holding on to beat Otterbein 7-6 in eight innings on a walk-off sac fly on March 5, the Blazers went on to beat No. 23 Lebanon Valley 3-2, Northwestern (Minn.) 7-1, Webster 14-10 and Manhattanville 18-2 in five innings.
 
Heading into the weekend, first year Sara Wennerstrand is 13^th in the MIAC with a .417 batting average. She is also third in the league with 18 RBIs. Junior shortstop Kim Lidstone leads the conference with 14 stolen bases and Wennerstrand has a team-high 20 hits, including six doubles.
 
First-year pitcher Taylor Ellingson has 11 appearances for the Blazers, and she is second in the MIAC with five wins and fifth with 33 strikeouts. She is 5-3 with five complete games and one save. Cassie Meyer also has three wins in four appearances and Melissa Seldon has seen time on the mound in three games.
 
Simpson enters Friday's doubleheader 18-2 overall and ranked 10^th in the latest NFCA Division III poll. Simpson started the season with a 16-game winning streak, but has lost two of its last four games. This marks the first home game of the year for the Storm. Junior Tori Haag leads the team with a .425 batting average and 31 hits, including six home runs, with 21 RBIs. Rachel Guessford is batting .410 with 25 hits and 19 RBIs. Abbie VanVleet is 9-0 on the mound for the Storm with a 0.62 ERA. She has given up just seven runs and struck out 40 batters in 56.1 innings pitched. Riley Fisher is 7-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 58.2 innings.
 
St. Norbert is 4-6 overall and looking to snap a two-game losing streak heading into Saturday. Taylor Long leads the team with a .452 batting average and 14 hits, and Morgan Rusch is 3-3 with a 4.42 ERA to lead the Green Knights on the mound. She has 13 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched.
 
Central is 14-5 overall and ranked 19^th in the NFCA. The Dutch are on a three-game winning streak heading into the weekend. Abbey Strajack leads the team with a .459 batting average and 28 hits, and Karlee Rock is batting .413 with a team-high 24 RBIs. She has seven home runs. Mallory Schulenberg is 5-3 with 29 strikeouts and a 1.79 ERA and Trisha Smith is 7-1 with 34 strikeouts and a 2.04 ERA for Central.
 
After this weekend's tournament, the Blazers are scheduled to be at home for a pair of MIAC doubleheaders next week. CSB is scheduled to host St. Thomas at 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 30, in a game that was originally scheduled to be played March 25. The Blazers continue their home stand with a doubleheader against Gustavus at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2.