NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team split a MIAC doubleheader with St. Olaf Saturday afternoon in Northfield. The Oles won the first game 4-3, but CSB's bats came alive in the second game and the Blazers won 9-0 in five innings.
 
CSB is now 18-10 overall and 6-4 in the MIAC. The Blazers have won five of their last six games.
 
Saint Benedict took control of game two in the top of the first inning, using four hits, two walks and two hit by pitches to score five runs. Karlee Pfaff started the scoring with a two-run single, and Becky Gigstad, Courtney Wissbaum and Kate Deming hit three straight RBI singles to make it 5-0.
 
Nicole Nelson added an RBI double and Samantha Sakihara had an RBI single in the second inning to make it 7-0, and the Blazers scored all the runs they needed with two more in the third inning. Nelson hit an RBI sac fly and Pfaff had another RBI single to make it 9-0. CSB kept St. Olaf (8-11, 3-7) off the board and ended the game early.
 
Pfaff had two hits and three RBIs to lead CSB, which had 10 total hits. Deming also had two hits and Nelson finished with a pair of RBIs. Claire Haddick earned the win – her third of the season – and gave up no runs on one hit. Victoria Ofsthun threw the final inning and gave up one hit.
 
Saint Benedict took an early lead in the first game, going up 1-0 in the third inning on an RBI groundout by Deming, but gave up four fifth-inning runs in the 4-3 loss. The Oles had two hits – including a grand slam – and took advantage of a walk and a CSB error in the inning. The Blazers got two runs back in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Emilie Antony and an RBI single from Madison Mikolich, but that's as close as they would get.
 
Mikolich had two of CSB's seven hits in the first game, and Gigstad had a double. Cassie Meyer took the loss on the mound after giving up four runs on four hits in six innings.
 
The Blazers play their second doubleheader of the weekend and fourth in the past five days Sunday when it hosts Bethel at 1 p.m.