ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a tough loss to St. Kate's Friday afternoon, the College of Saint Benedict knew it needed two wins Saturday to stay alive and earn a spot in the MIAC Championship game.
It took extra innings and an hour-plus rain delay, but the team delivered.
Saint Benedict beat St. Olaf 5-4 in nine innings, then turned around and beat the Wildcats – who shut down CSB's offense Friday – 8-2 in a game that was delayed an hour and 20 minutes due to lightning.
The two wins put CSB in Sunday's MIAC Championship game against top-seeded St. Thomas. This marks the first time since 2004 that the CSB softball team is playing for a conference title. That year, the team fell to the Tommies 3-2 in nine innings. Saint Benedict is looking for its first MIAC title since 1994.
In the team's first game Friday, the Oles (23-18) took an early 3-0 lead thanks to a wild pitch and a two-run single in the second inning. CSB got one run back in the bottom of the inning when
Olivia Olson tripled and then scored on an RBI sac fly by
Claire Boatman, but St. Olaf made it 4-1 in the fifth on an RBI single.
Saint Benedict used two hits – including a two-run single from
Emilie Antony – and a pair of St. Olaf errors to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game, and that's where the score stayed after seven innings. Both teams were scoreless in the eighth, and the Oles got runners on in the ninth but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat.
Kate Deming singled to start the bottom of the inning, stole second, advanced to third on a sac bunt by
Megan Toninato and scored when the Oles' pitcher overthrew the ball at first base.
Antony had two hits and two RBIs to lead CSB, which had seven hits, and Boatman had two hits.
Kiela DeVlaeminck earned the win on the mound after giving up just two hits in four innings of work. She struck out four batters.
Ally Hjort gave up one run in three innings and
Cassie Meyer gave up three runs on four hits in the first two innings.
Saint Benedict – which is now 34-7 – got on the board much earlier against the Wildcats in the fourth game between the two teams in the past five days. Antony had an RBI single to make it 1-0 after one inning, and CSB took a 2-0 lead in the second on an RBI double from
Karlee Pfaff. Two more runs scored in the fourth on an RBI single from Deming and a bases-loaded walk before the Wildcats got on the board in the fifth.
St. Kate's (26-15) used two hits, including a two-run single, and a CSB error to make it 4-2, but CSB batted around in the bottom of the inning to push its lead to six at 8-2. Boatman had an RBI single, Deming had a two-run triple and she came around to score on an error.
With a runner on first and two outs in the top of the seventh inning, game officials delayed the game due to lightning and storms in the area, but after more than an hour inside an a short warm-up period, CSB took the field one more time and Deming made a running snag in center field to end the game and send her team to the title game.
Alex Smith picked up the win on the mound and went 4-for-4 with two doubles to pace CSB at the plate. She gave up two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Deming had three hits and three RBIs and Antony and Boatman each added two hits for CSB.
CSB takes on the Tommies at 11 a.m. Sunday in St. Paul. If UST wins that game, it wins the 2018 MIAC Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. If Saint Benedict wins the 11 a.m. game, a second game will be played immediately after as St. Thomas has not yet lost in the double-elimination tournament. The Tommies beat St. Kate's 3-1 Saturday morning to advance to the title game and are now 34-6 overall.
