ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team started the 2021 season with a nonconference split with UW-La Crosse Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bennies picked up a 5-3 win in Game 1 thanks to stellar pitching from Elly Novak and a timely hit from Lexi Hanson before falling 10-5 in Game 2.
 
In the first game, the Eagles (1-3) took a 2-0 lead after one inning thanks to an RBI single and a bases-loaded walk. CSB (1-1) tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Bryn Carlstrom reached on an error, Jordyn Swoboda singled and Hannah Sundem sent both runners in with a two-run single.
 
A solo homer in the second put the Eagles up 3-2, but Gabby Spencer hit a sac fly to center field to score Katie Carlson and tie the game 3-3. That tie held until the sixth inning when Tori Harren and Sundem both singled, and Lizzy Walker – pinch running for Harren – and Sundem both came around to score on a two-run double from Hanson.
 
In her sophomore debut, Novak struck out a career-high 15 batters in the first game against La Crosse. That puts her right behind teammate Grace Gilmore, who struck out 16 in a spring break game last season, for most strikeouts in a game since at least 2003. Novak gave up a trio of runs and six hits to earn the win on the mound. Sundem and Hanson both finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
 
The second game was fairly quiet until the final two innings of play. The Bennies truck first when Swoboda hit a sac fly to right field, and UWL took a 2-1 lead in the third thanks to an RBI groundout and an RBI single.
 
Carlson hit the first home run of her Bennie career in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, and CSB went up 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Harren reached on a La Crosse error and sent in two runs.
 
The Eagles responded with four runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to come away with the win, however. A four-run sixth made it 6-4 Eagles, but Carlson knocked her second home run over the left-field fence to make it a one-run game, 6-5, heading into the seventh. A two-run homer and two-run single to right in the top of the seventh, however, put the Eagles out of reach.
 
Senior Ally Hjort threw the first six innings and took the loss after giving up six runs – four earned – on seven hits. She struck out nine batters. Grace Gilmore threw the final inning and gave up four runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts. Carlson, Sundem and Mo Burns each had two hits, and Carlson and Harren led the team with two RBIs.
 
CSB returns to action Sunday, March 14, when it hosts Gustavus starting at 1 p.m. in a nonconference double header at the Outdoor Athletic Complex.