NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team split a MIAC doubleheader with St. Olaf Thursday afternoon – but the Bennies didn't go down without a fight.
CSB came back from an early deficit before falling 11-9 in the first game, then came out firing on all cylinders in the second game en route to an 11-1, five-inning win. The team scored 20 runs on 19 hits in the two games and improved to 21-4 overall and 9-2 in the MIAC, good for third with just over a week left in the regular season.
The first game of the day was all St. Olaf, and it looked like the Oles (14-4, 9-1) were going to end things early after scoring eight runs on five hits and two CSB errors in the first inning, and tacking on a single run in the second to take a 9-0 lead.
But
Addy Bowne had an RBI single in the third to make it 9-1, and an RBI double from
Lizzy Walker in the fourth made it 9-2 – and then added five more runs in the fifth to avoid the run rule.
Lexi Hanson hit a three-run homer to make it a 9-5 game,
Jordyn Swoboda had an RBI single and
Gabby Spencer hit into an RBI groundout to make it 9-7.
The Oles added two runs in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 11-7, and that proved to be the difference. Swoboda hit a solo homer in the seventh and Walker doubled and came around to score on a St. Olaf error, and the Bennies had runners on first and second with two outs, but a long fly ball in left field foul territory ended the game.
Swoboda finished 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to pace CSB, which had nine hits, and Walker added two hits. Hanson led the team with three RBIs.
Addy Bowne took the loss on the mound after giving up nine runs – just one earned after a trio of Bennie errors – on seven hits in two innings of work.
Tiffany Thompson came in and gave up two hits in the final four innings. She struck out two batters.
After a quiet start to the second game – and three strikeouts in the first inning from
Elly Novak – the Bennies made a statement in the second.
Megan Rasmussen hit a two-run homer and Swoboda hit her second solo homer of the day to make it 3-0, and Carlstrom hit a grand slam – the Bennies' second of the week – in the fourth to put CSB up 7-0.
Rasmussen hit another two-run homer in the fifth and Carlstrom had a two-run double to make it 11-0, and the Oles' lone run in the bottom of the inning wasn't enough to extend the game. Rasmussen was 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Carlstom was 2-for-3 with six RBIs to pace CSB, which had 10 hits. Novak gave up a single run and scattered eight hits over seven innings while striking out seven batters.
The Bennies have Friday off then head to St. Paul both Saturday and Sunday to take on St. Kate's at 1 p.m. Saturday and Hamline at 1 p.m. Sunday.
