ST. PAUL, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team split a MIAC doubleheader with Hamline University Friday afternoon and maintained its spot atop the conference standings.
CSB lost the first game 4-3, but won the second 10-4 in a doubleheader that was rescheduled from Wednesday afternoon. With three doubleheaders left in the MIAC season, Saint Benedict remains at the top of the conference standings with a 13-3 record. St. Thomas is second at 12-4, Hamline is 10-4 and St. Kate's is 8-4.
The first game of the day was close throughout as Hamline (15-11 overall) scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a CSB error. Saint Benedict tied the game in the third when
Emilie Antony had an RBI double and
Sara Wennerstrand added an RBI triple, but the Pipers regained the lead with a single run in the bottom of the inning.
CSB tied the game once more in the fifth when
Kate Deming walked, advanced on an error and scored on an RBI sac fly by Antony, but Hamline took the lead for good in the sixth thanks to three singles. CSB had a trio of runners on base in the top of the inning, but Hamline turned a double play to end the threat.
Antony went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs to lead CSB, which had eight total hits. She had a double and a triple and Wennerstrand also tripled.
Kiela DeVlaeminck threw all six innings and gave up four runs – one earned – on 10 hits with four strikeouts in the loss.
Hamline took a 1-0 lead in the third inning of the second game, but a trio of big innings helped CSB come away with the win, and the split. Saint Benedict scored three times in the fourth on a two-run single by
Claire Boatman and an RBI single from
Madison Mikolich, and added five more runs in the sixth on five hits, including an RBI single from Boatman and RBI doubles from
Kate Deming and
Megan Toninato.
The Pipers scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-4, but CSB scored twice more in the seventh thanks to RBI singles from Boatman and
Kendra Swanson to wrap up scoring.
Boatman went 3-for-3 with four RBIs to lead CSB, which had 16 total its. Deming and Toninato both went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and
Karlee Pfaff and
Olivia Olson each added two hits.
Cassie Meyer scattered four runs off 11 hits over seven innings and struck out two batters.
Saint Benedict returns to action when it hosts Macalester in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on the CSB campus.
