Live Stats (Coe game only)
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – There's no question that the College of Saint Benedict softball team is young in 2016.
The Blazers have one senior on their roster –
Nicole Nelson – no juniors, seven sophomores and nine first years.
Having a young roster doesn't mean expectations have changed, however.
Head coach
Rachael Click – who enters her fourth season with the program in 2016 – and the Blazers kick off 2016 Saturday, Feb. 27, with a pair of neutral nonconference games at the RCTC Dome in Rochester, Minn. Saint Benedict – which was picked to finish sixth in the MIAC this season – heads into 2016 looking for its fourth straight 20-win season and looking to get back to the MIAC tournament.
CSB, which finished 22-18 overall and 11-11 and tied for sixth in the MIAC in 2015, starts the season against Dubuque at 7 p.m. at the RCTC Dome. Dubuque finished 2015 15-27 overall, and Ainsley Billesbach returns after batting .330 for the Spartans last season.
At 7 p.m., the Blazers take on Coe College. Coe went 24-16 overall and lost in its conference tournament semifinals in 2015. Erin Lang is back after batting a team-high .357 last year. Haley Smith .347 with nine doubles and Maliah Fligg led the team with 28 RBIs.
Returning to lead Saint Benedict in 2016 is sophomore
Sara Wennerstrand, who earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention last season. The catcher returns as the team's leading hitter after batting .336 as a first year in 2015. She finished sixth in the MIAC with 33 RBIs and also tied for eighth in the league with 11 doubles. Sophomore
Megan Toninato finished tied for first in the league with four triples and
Becky Gigstad finished her first year with nine doubles and two triples. Toninato also had a perfect fielding percentage from the outfield, and Wennerstrand had 166 putouts from behind the plate.
Back to lead CSB on the mound are
Kiela DeVlaeminck and
Cassie Meyer. DeVlaeminck made seven appearances and recorded a 26 strikeouts and a 1.57 ERA as a first year. Meyer made 20 appearances and struck out 25 batters. Joining the pitching staff in 2016 are first year
Claire Haddick and sophomore
Victoria Ofsthun.
CSB beat three ranked teams in 2015, including No. 12 St. Thomas. The Blazers also beat No. 23 Lebanon Valley and No. 19 Central. Saint Benedict split with Gustavus – which won the conference tournament – and Bethel, which won the regular-season title.
Click enters her fourth season five wins shy of the 75-win milestone. She started last season by picking up the 50
th win of her head coaching career after a sweep of UW-Stout.
After Saturday's games in Rochester, the Blazers host Stout Friday, March 4, at the Husky Dome on the St. Cloud State campus. The Blazers are in Florida March 20-27 for their annual spring break trip.
