ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team picked up its second MIAC split of the season Monday afternoon when it took on Bethel University in a makeup game. The Royals won the first game – originally scheduled to be played Saturday – 10-5, but CSB's bats came alive in the second game and it won 10-1 in six innings in the nightcap.
 
After not scoring until the fifth inning of the first game, CSB (23-7, 12-2) scored four runs in the first inning of Game 2 thanks to RBI doubles from Emilie Antony and Claire Boatman, an RBI single from Karlee Pfaff and Kate Deming stealing home. Bethel scored once in the bottom of the inning, but CSB added two more runs in the second on a two-run single by Sara Wennerstrand, and made it 7-1 in the third when Kiela DeVlaeminck was hit by a pitch and eventually came around to score on a Bethel error.
 
Saint Benendict ended the game early thanks to a three-run sixth inning. Wennerstrand had an RBI single, Pfaff had an RBI sac fly and DeVlaeminck had an RBI groundout. Bethel's one run scored in the first was the only runner to get past second base all game.
 
Toninato, Antony and Wennerstrand all went 3-for-4 for CSB, which had three total hits, and Wennerstrand had three RBIs. Pfaff also had two RBIs. DeVlaeminck improved to 9-2 after holding the Royals (9-14, 5-6) to one run on seven hits. She struck out three batters.
 
The first game was a different story for CSB as it gave up a single unearned run in the second inning, but seven runs in the third to go down 8-0 after three innings. The Royals had seven hits in the inning and had a runner on second, but Kadee Vesledahl came in and struck out the last two batters to end the inning.
 
CSB got on the board in the fifth thanks to a two-run triple from Emilie Antony and a Bethel error, but the Royals added two more runs in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single to make it 10-3. Antony had an RBI sac fly and Wennerstrand had an RBI single in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough as CSB took the loss, just its second conference loss of the year.
 
Toninato went 3-for-4 to lead CSB, which had eight total hits, and Antony had three RBIs. Boatman also had two hits. Alex Smith took the loss after giving up eight runs on 10 hits in 2.1 innings of work. She struck out three batters. Vesledahl struck out two batters in two-thirds of an inning, and Jocelyn Metz gave up a pair of runs on four hits with two strikeouts in the final three innings.
 
CSB's busy week continues Wednesday when it travels to St. Paul to take on Hamline, which is currently third in the MIAC at 9-3. CSB hosts Macalester Saturday and is at St. Thomas – which is 10-3 in the league and 23-6 overall – Sunday.