DECORAH, Iowa – The College of Saint Benedict softball team had runners just where it wanted them in several innings Friday, but was unable to capitalize. CSB stranded nine runners and fell 2-1 to Cornell College in its 2018 NCAA Tournament debut in Decorah, Iowa.
 
Saint Benedict takes on Lake Forest – which fell 11-3 in six innings in Friday's first game – at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game. The Rams move on to take on Luther at 11 a.m. Saturday.
 
CSB (34-9) got a runner on in each of the first four innings, but was unable to capitalize. The Rams (27-19) also got runners on – including a runner on third in the first inning – but they didn't score until the fourth when they got on the board with a solo homer over the right-field fence.
 
Cornell made it 2-0 in the fifth when it used two singles and a walk to load the bases, and a run scored on a bases-loaded hit by pitch. The Rams left the bases loaded, however, when Ally Hjort forced a groundout to end the inning.
 
Saint Benedict got on run back in the bottom of the inning when Claire Boatman doubled and came around to score on an RBI double from Megan Toninato, but the team left two runners on to end the inning. CSB had runners on second and third with just one out in the sixth, but a strikeout and a pop up in the infield ended the threat.
 
Emilie Antony reached on a fielder's choice and stole second in the bottom of the seventh, but that's as far as she got as the Rams got the final out of the game.
 
Toninato finished the game 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI to lead CSB, which finished with six hits. Hjort threw the first five innings and took the loss after giving up two runs on seven hits. Alex Smith didn't give up a single hit in the final two innings.
 
Saturday's games may be moved up due to rain in the afternoon forecast, so stay tuned to csbblazers.com or follow CSB on Twitter (@csb_athletics) for updates.