ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After weeks of anticipation, the College of Saint Benedict softball team played its first true home doubleheader of the season on the team's new field, and it broke in the turf with a pair of shutouts Saturday afternoon.
First year pitcher
Ally Hjort was stellar on the mound for the second time this week, throwing a three-hit shutout to help CSB to a 7-0 win in the first game, and she came in to back up
Cassie Meyer and threw the final 2.2 innings to earn the save in a 2-0 second-game win.
Saint Benedict is now 21-5 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC. CSB – which reached the 20-win milestone for the sixth straight season – has now won eight straight games and swept four straight MIAC opponents.
Emilie Antony had an RBI single in the first inning of the first game to give CSB all the runs it would need, but the team scored five in the third to seal the win.
Megan Toninato had an RBI double,
Claire Boatman had a two-run single and
Karlee Pfaff added a two-run double in the inning to put CSB up 6-0.
Kendra Swanson ended the scoring with a solo homer – the first on the new field – in the fifth.
Hjort allowed just six base runners on three hits, two walks and a CSB error. She added seven strikeouts to her season total in the first game. Toninato went 2-for-3 and Antony finished 2-for-4, and Boatman and Pfaff each had a pair of RBIs for CSB.
In the second game, two early runs proved to be all that CSB needed to pick up the win.
Sara Wennerstrand had an RBI groundout in the first inning to score
Kate Deming, and
Maya Chuppe had an RBI sac fly in the second to put CSB up 2-0.
The Royals loaded the bases in the third, but Hjort took over for Meyer and forced a pair of groundouts to end the threat. Bethel (12-12, 5-5) had runners on first and second in the top of the seventh, but Hjort got a pop up and a strikeout to end the inning and the game.
Meyer gave up three hits and no runs with two strikeouts in 4.1 innings to earn the win – her fifth of the season. Hjort earned her first collegiate save after giving up a trio of hits with two strikeouts in the final 2.2 innings. Deming, Toninato and Boatman had CSB's three hits.
CSB is back at home twice more before it hits the road again. The team hosts Carleton at 1 p.m. Sunday, then hosts Hamline at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in a makeup game from earlier this season.
