ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team's bats were hot Tuesday afternoon as the team split a MIAC doubleheader with Bethel.
CSB had 10 hits in both games, and strung enough together to start the series with a 5-0 win in the first game of the day. In the second game, the team had 10 hits, but also stranded eight base runners in a 7-3 loss. Saint Benedict is now 19-10 overall and 7-7 and tied for sixth in the MIAC with four conference doubleheaders left in the regular season. The top four teams earn a spot in the league's postseason tournament.
In the first game of the day, CSB scored all the runs it would need in the top of the second inning.
Madison Mikolich singled,
Emilie Antony walked and both came around to score on a two-run double from
Alex Smith. Smith came around to score on an RBI fielder's choice from
Olivia McCabe to make it 3-0.
On the mound,
Ally Hjort gave up a single in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but stranded all three runners and CSB was able to hold onto its lead. The team added a single run in the sixth on an RBI single from Antony, and one more run in the seventh for good measure when McCabe doubled in the seventh and came around to score on an RBI single from
Kate Deming.
Deming, Mikolich and McCabe all had two hits for CSB and Smith finished with a pair of RBIs. Hjort picked up her fourth shutout of the season after giving up a trio of hits in seven innings of work. The win marked her 11
th of the year.
Deming walked and made it around to third to start the second game, but that's the closest CSB would get to scoring until the fourth inning when
Kendra Swanson singled and scored on an RBI fielder's choice from McCabe. That lead was short lived, however, as the Royals scored twice in the bottom of the inning on an RBI fielder's choice and a CSB throwing error.
Codi Zwack singled in the fifth but was later thrown out at third and
Claire Boatman tripled but was left stranded in the fifth, and the Royals took advantage of the momentum by scoring five runs in the bottom of the inning. Bethel batted around and used five hits and another CSB error to score five runs – four earned – to go up 7-1. McCabe walked, Zwack singled and both scored on a two-run double from Boatman in the top of the seventh, but the Royals got the final two outs to come away with the split.
Boatman had three of CSB's 10 hits in the second game and two RBIs. Zwack, Antony and Smith each added a pair of hits. Hjort got the start on the mound in Game 2, but took the loss – just her second of the season – after giving up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits. She struck out four batters.
Grace Gilmore came in and gave up just two hits in the final 1.2 innings of work.
CSB continues its busy week Thursday, April 18, when it hosts Saint Mary's in a makeup game starting at 3:30 p.m. in St. Joseph.
