ST. PAUL, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team split a MIAC doubleheader with Hamline Sunday afternoon in St. Paul.
The Bennies' offense was hot in Game 1 as the team recorded 14 hits en route to a 9-3 win, but CSB ran into a tough pitcher in the second game as the team fell 2-0 to the Pipers. With four doubleheaders left in the regular season, CSB is 22-5 overall and in third in the MIAC with a 10-3 record.
CSB got on the board early in the first game as
Megan Erickson had a two-run double to left and
Megan Rasmussen followed that up with an RBI single straight back to the pitcher to make it 3-0 in the first inning. The Pipers (16-12, 7-8) got one run back in the bottom of the inning, but CSB made it 4-1 in the fourth when
Addy Bowne reached on a Hamline error to send home a run.
The Pipers made it 4-2 in the fifth, but the Bennies tacked on five runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach. Rasmussen reached on an error to send in a run,
Jordyn Swoboda had a two-run double,
Lizzy Walker had an RBI single and
Bryn Carlstrom added an RBI single for good measure to make it 9-2. Hamline got one run back in the bottom of the inning, but the Bennies came away with the win.
Spencer and Carlstrom both had three hits for the Bennies, who had 14 total hits. Walker added two hits and Erickson and Swoboda both had two RBIs. Sophomore pitcher
Tiffany Thompson threw the first complete game of her collegiate career to earn the win on the mound. She gave up three runs – just two earned – and scattered seven hits over seven innings with one strikeout.
In the second game, hits were hard to come by for both teams, but the Pipers capitalized on their three hits and a pair of Bennie errors. CSB had a shot to score in the top of the fourth when Carlstrom singled and
Mo Burns, her pinch runner, stole second then advanced to third on a fielder's choice, but a fly out ended the inning. The Pipers got on the board in the bottom of the inning thanks to back-to-back CSB errors, and that would prove to be all they needed.
Gabby Spencer singled to lead off the top of the sixth but was later out on a fielder's choice. Erickson singled to put runners on first and second, but another fielder's choice and a line out ended the threat. Once again, Hamline scored in the bottom of the inning – this time on a trio of bunts. The Pipers got a runner on with a bunt, she stole second and then moved to third on a sac bunt, then came around to score on a bunt single to the pitcher to make it 2-0. Rasmussen singled in the top of the seventh, but that was the team's only hit of the inning.
Rassmussen had two of the team's six hits in Game 2.
Elly Novak picked up her first loss of the season on the mound. She gave up a single earned run and just three hits while striking out seven in six innings of work.
CSB has a busy week lined up as the regular season comes to a close. The Bennies head to league-leading Bethel Tuesday, hosts St. Scholastica in a single makeup game Wednesday, travels to St. Kate's Friday to make up Saturday's postponed doubleheader, and hosts Saint Mary's Friday. The Bennies also still need to reschedule their game against Concordia.
