ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a slow start to the spring season, the College of Saint Benedict softball team wraps up the regular season with a sprint to the finish. CSB starts a busy four-day stretch with a doubleheader at St. Olaf on Saturday, April 28. The 1 p.m. game marks the first of three doubleheaders in four days for the team.
About St. Olaf
St. Olaf is fourth in the league standings heading into the weekend doubleheader at 21-13 overall and 11-7 in the MIAC. The Oles had a 10-game winning streak snapped Thursday with a pair of losses to St. Kate's. Emily Carr leads the team and the league at the plate. She is first in the league with 32 RBIs, and is fourth with a .423 batting average. On the mound, sophomore Julie Graf is first in the MIAC with 221 strikeouts and second with 14 wins and a 1.73 ERA.
Last Year
CSB and St. Olaf split their doubleheader last spring at CSB, with the Oles taking game one 8-4 before CSB rebounded to win game two 9-1 in six innings.
Kate Deming opened the scoring for CSB, hitting a single and scoring on an Ole error. CSB then added four runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to two more Ole errors and a two-run homer by
Olivia Olson that made it 8-1.
Cassie Meyer earned the win with six innings thrown after only giving up one run on five hits with four strikeouts.
Who to Watch
Megan Toninato continues to pace CSB at the plate with a .449 batting average, but the team's bats as a whole have been hot. In a sweep of Macalester on Wednesday night, all of CSB's batters saw immense success.
Karlee Pfaff hit a two-run double in game one, ended the opening frame with five RBIs and finished the day 4-for-6 with seven RBIs. Deming, Toninato, and
Alex Smith all registered two hits, and
Sara Wennerstrand had a two-run double herself.
The Storyline
Both CSB and the Oles have seen their success stem from one central location: the pitcher's mound. Both teams have an ace that has driven the team's success. For CSB, that's reigning MIAC Pitcher of the Week,
Ally Hjort. Hjort is boasting a staggering 0.74 era and a 9-2 overall record. Last week she pitched three wins, two of which were shutouts and one a no-hitter, and earned a save in four games of action. For St. Olaf, their ace is Graf, who has struck out 228 batters in her 30 appearances. In her 147.1 innings pitched, Graf has a 2.32 era and a 15-10 overall record. She's only allowed 54 opponent runs and 63 walks. Graf also has a save on the books for the season.
After taking on the Oles Saturday, CSB is at Saint Mary's Monday, April 30, and ends the regular season Tuesday, May 1, at St. Kate's.
