KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Led by the sterling pitching performance of senior
Elly Novak, the College of Saint Benedict (7-1) ran its winning streak to five games with a pair of shutouts on Friday (March 10) as part of the Spring Games. The Bennies defeated Kenyon College, 10-0, in five innings (run rule) and Saint Joseph College of Maine, 5-0.
Novak did not allow a run and just five hits across 11 innings in winning twice. She had 18 strikeouts, including 13 against Saint Joseph College for the 11
th time in her career with double-digits strikeouts. A two-time All-Region honoree, Novak had two wins to push her career total to 40. With another complete game, she now has 35 in her career. She is 4-1 in 2023 with a 1.80 earned run average and 28 strikeouts.
"Elly looked great today in the circle," said CSB Head Coach
Rachael Click. "She was in total control in both games," said Click, whose team will finish their Florida trip with games against Carroll University 2 p.m., and Belhaven University at 4:30 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, March 11.
On offense, CSB collected 15 runs and 18 hits. The 10-0 win over Kenyon College was the third time this season the Bennies had reached double-digits in runs scored.
Individually, senior outfielder
Gabby Spencer had three hits, including a home run while pushing her average to .381 on the season. First-year
Kallie Finkbeiner had her first-career home run with two hits and two RBI in the win over Kenyon College. With a double and run scored against Saint Joseph, junior
Tiffany Thompson pushed her team-leading average to .526 with a team-high 10 hits and nine RBI. Fifth-year
Jordyn Swoboda had three RBI against St. Joseph while
Bryn Ruhberg had a pair of hits against Kenyon.
Saint Benedict 10 Kenyon College 0
Novak allowed just two hits with five strikeouts across four innings in winning for the third time this year in the 10-0 blanking of Kenyon College.
Addy Bowne finished for the Bennies, working one inning, and not allowing a hit.
CSB, which won by the run rule, scored in each of the five innings, including three in the first frame.
The offense was led by Spencer, who was 1-of-2 with two RBI along with a home run. First-year
Kallie Finkbeiner had two hits, including her first-career home run, with two RBI.
Olivia Tautges, who is now hitting .429, had two hits as did
Bryn Ruhberg while
Tori Harren and
Tiffany Thompson had stolen bases.
Scoring Summary -
CSB scored three runs in the opening inning – all unearned. In the second inning, Spencer hit a two-run home run as the Bennies took a 5-0 lead. In the third inning,
Lexi Hanson had a run-scoring single to plate Ruhberg. Then, Hanson scored on Thompson's RBI ground out. In the fourth inning, Finkbeiner connected on her first-career home run, a solo shot to left field. CSB added two more in the fifth inning on a fielder's choice RBI by
Maddy Kubik which brought home Ruhberg. Finkbeiner's run-scoring single scored Kubik.
Saint Benedict 5 Saint Joseph 0
While Novak was impressive in the opening game of the day, she was better in the 5-0 win over Saint Joseph. In the shutout, she allowed just three hits while recording a season-high 13 strikeouts while throwing 75 pitches.
CSB, which now has four shutouts on the season, was led on offense by Spencer, who had two hits and a run scored.
Jordyn Swoboda, who is now hitting .333, had three RBI or more in a game for the second time this season.
Tiffany Thompson doubled and scored a run while
Cat Smetana and
Bryn Carlstrom also had hits.
Scoring Summary -
After a scoreless first inning, the Bennies broke through with a four-spot in the second inning. First, Thompson doubled to score
Megan Erickson. Then, later in the inning, Swoboda's three-run triple brought home Carlstrom, Spencer, and Thompson for a 4-0 lead. Smetana singled to score Swoboda in the fifth inning for a 5-0 lead.
