ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- No. 17 ranked CSB Softball (18-4, 9-3 MIAC) will host Hamline (11-14-1, 5-7 MIAC) in a MIAC doubleheader at 2/4 p.m., on Senior Day at the CSB Softball Field on Sunday April 23.
On Sunday, the Bennies will honor seniors
Gabby Spencer,
Elly Novak,
Hannah Sundem,
Jordyn Swoboda,
Tiffany Thompson and
Lexi Hanson prior to the start of the doubleheader. The game was originally scheduled for 1/3 p.m., but moved back an hour because of the weather.
Quick look
CSB opened the season with a 13-1 record, which included a 9-1 record at the Spring Games in Florida. CSB returned to open the MIAC with four straight wins including victories over St. Olaf, 7-3, and 3-2 and then Augsburg, 6-0, and 10-0. CSB split a doubleheader with Gustavus on April 10, in St. Peter, Minn., as the Bennies lost, 6-3, before recording a 7-2 decision. Before the 11-game winning streak ended in the 6-3 loss at Gustavus, CSB had the longest run since April 17-April 28, 2021. In 2021, Saint Ben's also won 11 straight during a 26-7 season. In a nationally ranked match up, Bennies lost on April 14, to the No. 7 Bethel Royals (19-3, 8-0), 13-1 and 2-1. The Bennies have won four straight since falling to Bethel with wins over Carleton, 12-1 and 6-1 on Tuesday, April 18 and a double header shutout win over Macalester, 5-0 and 10-0.
The Bennies own a 18-4 overall record, and sit 9-3 in the MIAC, which is third in the league behind St. Olaf (8-2) and undefeated Bethel (8-0) in first place.
Weather impacting spring schedule
Weather has impacted the season schedule as a total of 16 games have been canceled or postponed. It started with a March 19 doubleheader with Buena Vista, which has been postponed. A road weekend in Iowa included cancelation of games against both Coe College on March 25 and Wartburg College on March 26. Due to another wave of snow, games scheduled against St. Olaf, (April 1), St. Scholastica (April 2) and Carleton (April 5) were postponed and rescheduled. And, it has continued with the rescheduling of the Bethel-CSB game, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 15 but moved up a day with a weather forecast that includes rain and cooling temperatures. Due to incoming inclement weather, including rain/snow mix and cold, the MIAC softball doubleheader between CSB at Concordia-Moorhead was moved from Sunday, April 16 to 3:30/5:30 p.m., on Friday, April 28 in Moorhead, Minn. Then today's (April 22) MIAC DH at the CSB Softball Field with St. Catherine was shifted to May 4 at 3:30/5:30 p.m., due to the cold and blustery conditions.
National Rankings - CSB moves up to No. 13 in NFCA poll
The Bennies, which were unranked in the first poll of the season, was ranked No. 17 this week (April 18) after being ranked No. 13. CSB was No. 14 for four straight weeks before moving to No. 13 on April 11. After falling twice to No. 7 Bethel, CSB is now ranked No 17 in the poll. CSB, directed by Head Coach Rachael Click, has been ranked every season since 2016 and its last ranking was No. 18 on April 29, 2022. This is the highest ranking by a Bennies' squad since being voted 13th on May 9, 2018 in the NFCA Poll. They were also No. 16 on April 14, 2021, and 17th in 2019.
By the Numbers – In MIAC play
Spencer has hit .500 in conference play with 33 hits in 66 at bats while driving in 23 runs and totaling a .773 slugging mark with a .625 OBP. Also in MIAC play, first-year shortstop Kallie Finkbeiner is hitting .481 with 13 hits in 27 at bats while Jordyn Swoboda is batting .333 with 22 hits and 18 runs. In addition, Harren is hitting .359 with four home runs and 17 RBI with a .594 slugging mark. As a team, CSB, is batting .326 and while holding opponents to a .208 mark. In the circle, Ellie Peterson is 9-1 and Elly Novak, 9-3, with a team total of 2.24 earned run average and 140 strikeouts.
In NCAA DIII national stats
In NCAA DIII stats, Gabby Spencer is ranked third in on-base percentage at .619, which leads the MIAC. She is in the top-20 in hitting at .507 and eighth in walks per game at 0.86. Elly Novak ranks 11th in DIII and second in the MIAC with five shutouts and is 32nd in strike-to-walk ration at 7.27. As a team, CSB is second in DIII in fielding at .983; 16th in shutouts with nine and 27th in strikeout-to-walk ration at 3.78.
Overall Team Numbers -
As a team, CSB sits third in the league with a .333 average and second in slugging at .474 and at .405 in on-base percentage, ranks fourth. CSB has 15 home runs and 297 total bases with 209 hits and 138 runs scored.
Records and top-10 program marks
In 2 1/2 seasons, senior pitcher Elly Novak has already set a number of season and career records. She ranks No. 1 in wins in a season with 17 and strikeouts in a season with 172. With seven strikeouts against Macalester in her last outing, Novak set CSB's career strikeout mark of 418, passing Angie Erickson, who had 414 from 1997-00. She and Erickson sit tied with 18 career shutouts for the career lead. Novak has the program's top strikeout per seven innings rate at 8.41. With six saves, Novak is tied for the all-time lead with Kris Gorman, 1993-96. Her 45 career wins is fourth and just one behind Gorman with 46 for third. In complete games, Novak is sixth with 40 and ranks sixth in inning pitched at 350.0.
With a career average (currently) of .418, Gabby Spencer is second all-time. Her mark of .507 is a season-best. She ranks No. 1 in on-base percentage at .501 and leads with a .486 slugging percentage. Spencer is also eighth in runs score with 109. She is third at CSB all-time in stolen bases with 48. With 13 career triples, Spencer ranks tied for second with Julie Groetsch, 1991-94; and Megan Toninato, 2015-18. Jordyn Swoboda is second all-time with 18 career home runs and ranks tied for eighth with 84 RBI (Claire Boatman, 2016-19). Also in home runs, Tori Harren is fourth with 13 and Spencer, fifth with 12. With 223 total bases, Spencer is eighth all-time. With 58 walks, Spencer ranks third all-time.
After hitting .833, Gabby Spencer named MIAC Athlete of the Week April 10
After hitting .833 against St. Olaf and Augsburg, senior All-American Gabby Spencer of the No. 14 College of Saint Benedict has been named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Athlete of the Week on April 10. Spencer, a biology major from St. Paul, Minn., had a spectacular four-game series as No. 14 Bennies swept St. Olaf and Augsburg and sit at the top of the MIAC with a 4-0 record and 13-1 overall. Spencer, who was named All-Region, MIAC Player of the Year and MIAC All-Tourney in 2022, earned her third MIAC Athlete of the Week honor (Feb. 28, 2002, April 11, 2022; April 10, 2023) is the third CSB softball student-athlete honored by the MIAC this year after
Tiffany Thompson and Elly Novak were recognized on March 13. In total, CSB has had 36 softball players recognized with weekly honors by the MIAC. After more than three weeks off, the 2022 first team NFCA All American hit .833 with 10 hits in 12 at bats, scoring eight runs with a double, triple, two home runs, nine RBI and 7-of-7 in stolen bases. She had a 1.583 slugging mark and .867 OBP. In 15 plate appearances she reached 13 times. In raising her batting average to .538 this year, Spencer has 19 hits in the past 30 at bats. She has five multi-hit games and four contests with multi-RBI. So far, she has eight extra base hits of the 21 total. Those extra base hits include four doubles, a triple and three home runs. Spencer, who has a team-best 16 RBI, has 10 steals in 12 attempts. She ranks third in the MIAC in average (.538), first in on-base pct (.667) and second in slugging (.923) and OPS (1.590).
Inside Look at Hamline
Hamline is led by Jim Rubbelke in his 16th season as head softball coach, taking over the program in 2008. The St. Paul native is the winningest
softball coach in school history with an overall mark of 286-245-1.
This season, the Pipers stand 11-14-1 overall and 5-7 in conference play. Hamline has a four-game losing streak and holds a 2-2 home record and a 3-6 away. On offense, they are hitting .294 for sixth in the lead. They have five home runs and a .378 slugging mark. The Pipers have totaled 96 runs and 256 total bases. In the circle, Hamline is 8th with a 3.68 earned run average in 153.1 innings.
At the plate, Jenna Rubbelke leads the Pipers with a .387 average and has a .480 slugging with 29 hits. Gabby Cook is hitting .387 with 17 RBI and a .520 slugging while Abbey Herbert has 14 RBI and a .288 batting average. In the circle, the Pipers are led by Montana Miller with a 4-5 record and 3.26 earned run average. Kaitlyn Pistorius is 3-3 with a 3.44 earned run average.
Series - CSB leads Pipers 45-24 all-time
When Hamline and CSB meet on Sunday, it will be the 70th and 71st meeting all-time with the Bennies holding a 45-24 edge. From April 22, 1989, to April 26, 2003, out pf 30 matchups the Bennies won all but 2 including 12 straight. CSB has a 25-9 record at home and 17-13 mark at St. Paul with a 7-3 record in the past 10 games. In the first matchup on April 22, 1989, CSB won, 2-0. However, the Bennies lost the last game, 0-2, on April 24, 2022 at Meredith Field.
Bennies Season Breakdown
Peterson, Novak, Harren and Tautges lead Bennies to 10-2 and 7-0 wins to open season.
Led by the pitching of first-year Ellie Peterson and hitting of junior Tori Harren, CSB took a 10-2 run-rule win over Husson University (0-1) in the opener. Then, Elly Novak earned her 37th career win and the first of the year with a 7-0 shutout against Misericordia in game two.
Peterson records first career shutout as CSB Softball defeats No. 21 Rochester to earn split.
CSB scored its only run – the only score of the game – in the bottom of the fourth inning and defeated Rochester, 1-0 as first-year Ellie Peterson turned in a stellar effort in the circle. Peterson allowed just four hits while recording six strikeouts. Megan Erickson singled to open the fourth inning and was replaced by pinch runner Olivia Van Hout. With two out, pinch runner Lexi Hanson scored on an error off a ground out by Megan Rasmussen.
Late game magic lifts CSB Softball to wins over Illinois College & York
CSB rallied late to defeat York College, 12-4, in eight innings. The Bennies jumped to a 3-0 lead after a two-run double from Gabby Spencer in the second inning. In the three-run second, Tiffany Thompson also collected an RBI. In the fifth inning, Spencer doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Olivia Tautges for a 4-1 lead. York College scored a run in the sixth inning and tied it with two runs in the seventh frame. In the top of the eighth inning, Bryn Ruhberg broke the tie by scoring on an error by York before Swoboda hammered a two-run home run over the centerfield fence for a 7-4 lead. The lead grew to 8-4 on a run-scoring single by Spencer as Megan Rasmussen, who singled earlier, came home. With two out, Olivia Tautges singled to score Thompson, who had reached on a single. CSB scored another run on an error before Lexi Hanson's
run-scoring infield single scored Tautges. Swoboda had her third RBI of the inning with a run-scoring single to center which plated Hanson for the 12-4 margin. In a 5-4 win over Illinois College on March 9, Bryn Ruhberg had a walk-off double to take the 5-4 win. Ruhberg had two hits and her walk-off hit plated Jordyn Swoboda. In the circle, Elly Novak earned her second win in three decisions in one inning of work.
Novak dominates in circle to
lead CSB Softball to shutouts against Kenyon and Saint Joseph
Elly Novak did not allow a run and just five hits across 11 innings in winning twice against Kenyon, 10-0, and St. Joseph's College of Maine, 5-0. She had 18 strikeouts, including 13 against Saint Joseph College for the 11th time in her career with double-digits strikeouts. Individually, senior outfielder Gabby Spencer had three hits, including a home run. First-year Kallie Finkbeiner had her first-career home run with two hits and two RBI in the win over Kenyon College. Tiffany Thompson had a pair of hits against St. Joseph. Fifth-year Jordyn Swoboda had three RBI against St. Joseph while Bryn Ruhberg had a pair of hits against Kenyon.
Stellar pitching and clutch hitting lead to wins over Belhaven and Rochester
Stellar pitching matched with clutch hitting helped the College of Saint Benedict Softball Team (9-1) to a pair of victories on Saturday (March 11) in the final day of play for the Bennies in Florida. As Saint Ben's extended its winning streak to seven games, the Bennies earned a 1-0 extra inning win over Carroll University and a 5-2 decision against No. 6 Belhaven University. CSB, which recorded a pair of wins over top-25 NFCA-ranked teams, wrapped up its play at the Spring Games with a 9-1 record. In the wins today, CSB had another impressive performance from All-Region pitcher
Elly Novak (5-1), who had an eight-inning complete game and was added by a walk-off sacrifice fly by Bryn Ruhberg in a 1-0 win over Carroll University. It was CSB's second walk-off win this season. The second game of the day, the Bennies scored four runs in the second inning and used a strong start from Ellie Peterson (4-0) to pick up a 5-2 win.
Bennies sweep St. Olaf, 7-3, 3-2 in eight innings
All-American outfielder Gabby Spencer had six hits, including a walk-off single in game two, to lead the No. 14 College of Saint Benedict to a sweep of an MIAC doubleheader, 7-3, and 3-2, against St. Olaf (6-14, 0-2 MIAC) on Friday (April 7) at the CSB Softball Field. The Bennies, which extended their winning streak to nine games, successfully opened the home schedule with a pair of MIAC victories, including the dramatic 3-2 walk off win in game two as Spencer's run-scoring single brought home
Tiffany Thompson. The Bennies trailed in game two 2-1 in the seventh inning before first-year Cat Smetana hit her first career home run to tie it. Then, Spencer had the walk-off single for the win. CSB also recorded a 7-3 win as Spencer had four hits, including a pair of home runs.
Led by Peterson's no-hitter and Novak's shutout, Bennies sweep Augsburg
Dominating pitching from Ellie Peterson, including a five-inning no hitter, and Elly Novak plus the hitting of Gabby Spencer and Kallie Finkbeiner CSB softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Augsburg (15-9, (1-5 MIAC), 6-0, and 10-0, on Saturday, April 8 at the CSB
Softball Field. Aside from throwing two shutouts, how dominating was the CSB pitching staff on Saturday? Novak (14) and Peterson (7) combined for 21 strikeouts and walked just two batters today. In four games, they combined for 31 strikeouts and allowed 16 total hits. In the 10-0 win in game two, Peterson tossed her first five-inning no-hitter of her career. It was the first- five-inning no hitter by a CSB pitcher since Novak also did it against Augsburg on April 21, 2021, in a 15-0 win. In addition, CSB had shutouts in both games of a doubleheader against a MIAC team for the first time since April 28, 2021 (St. Mary's, 3-0, 1-0).
CSB splits with Gustavus on April 10
Tori Harren homered, Gabby Spencer had three hits and Ellie Peterson tossed a four-hit complete game as CSB recorded a 7-2 decision in game two and earned a split of a doubleheader against Gustavus Adolphus (8-12, 1-3 MIAC) on Tuesday (April 11). In the opener, Gustavus took an early lead before recording a 6-3 win and ended an 11-game winning streak by the Bennies. Then in game two, CSB bounced back by opening a 7-0 lead and picked up a 7-2 win as Peterson won her seventh straight decision with four-hit complete game. In the doubleheader, Gabby Spencer had four hits in seven at bats with two RBI while Jordyn Swoboda and Tori Harren both had three hits in seven at bats. Harren led CSB with four RBI. Overall, CSB had 20 hits and 10 runs with a .443 slugging and .388 OBP. They also recorded six of eight stolen bases.
CSB falls twice to No. 11 Bethel
Despite a combined seven hits from first-year players Kallie Finkbeiner and
Cat Smetana, the No. 13 College of Saint Benedict (14-4, 5-3 MIAC) dropped a pair of games to No. 11 Bethel (17-3, 6-0 MIAC) in MIAC action at the CSB Softball Field. The Bennies took a 13-1 loss in game one and lost a heartbreaker in game two, 2-1.
With the setbacks, CSB drops to 5-3 in league play and tied for fourth place. Bethel remains in first place at 6-0. In the doubleheader, Cat Smetana had four hits in six at bats with two RBI, including a home run. In the circle in game two,
Elly Novak allowed eight hits with seven strikeouts but suffered a 2-1 setback.
Bennies sweeps Carleton, 12-1, 6-1
Against Carleton, the Bennies were led by senior All-American outfielder Gabby Spencer with four hits in five at bats as she pushed her season average to .517. Spencer, who had a pair of doubles and a stolen base, pushed her on-base percentage to .632 on the season. With a pair of multi-hit games, she has a team-high eight on the season. First-year shortstop
Kallie Finkbeiner, who is now batting .500 with a .543 on-base percentage, supplied three hits in six at bats against Carleton. She extended her hitting streak to eight games. Junior infielder
Tori Harren added three hits and three RBI while junior catcher
Bryn Carlstrom also had three hits. Harren now has 14 RBI and a .322 average while Carlstrom is now hitting .254.
With a 2nd no-hitter by Peterson and power hitting, CSB sweeps Macalester
Dominant pitching from Elly Novak and
Ellie Peterson, who threw her second career five-inning no-hitter, along with explosive offense led the No. 17 College of Saint Benedict (18-4, 9-3 MIAC) to a sweep of a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader over Macalester (11-17, 3-9 MAIC), 5-0, 10-0, on Wednesday (April 19). Led by senior
Hannah Sundem, CSB hit .434 as a team today with 15 runs on 23 hits and a .516 on-base percentage. Sundem, who is hitting .615 on the season in four starts, had her best performance of the year with five hits in six at bats with three runs and and RBI. She had a pair of doubles.
Tori Harren had four hits in six at bats with her fourth home run and three RBI. First-year
Kallie Finkbeiner, who is hitting .500 in 2023, had four hits in eight at bats with three RBI while
Maddie Brey had three hits in six at bats with two RBI. The Bennies are now hitting .326 as a team with a .460 slugging percentage and .397 on-base base percentage. CSB has 13 home runs and 36 doubles.
Individual Stats – Spencer, Novak lead way for Bennies
Gabby Spencer ranks second in the league in hitting at .508 and sits second in slugging percentage at .794. She leads the MIAC in on-base percentage at .631 and her 1.425 OPS is second in the league. Spencer leads CSB with 19 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
Tori Harren is hitting .359 with a 1.017 OPS and tied for a team-high three home runs and 17 RBI.
Jordyn Swoboda is hitting .338 with 16 RBI and .413 OBP.
Senior pitcher Elly Novak of Montgomery, Minn., earned her third MIAC honor on March 13 after behind recognized on March 22, 2021, and Feb. 28, 2022. Novak is second in the league with a 1.71 earned run average and has a 9-3 record with four shutouts and six complete games. Her seven wins is tied for second in the league and with 80 strikeouts sits third in the MIAC.
Ellie Peterson a first-year pitcher from St. Anthony Village, Minn., has a 9-1 record, and threw her first no-hitter (five innings) in April against Augsburg. Peterson has a 2.18 earned run average for fifth in the MIAC with six complete games in seven starts. She has 55 strikeouts and sits fifth in the MIAC .
Rachael Click leading CSB Softball for 11th year
Under Click's guidance, CSB has won 20 or more games in nine of her 10 seasons, and all nine of the full seasons she has coached. In addition, the Bennies have earned three NCAA DIII appearances, including in 2018, 2019 and 2022 when CSB finished 2-2. This season, the Bennies have earned a No. 13 ranking in DIII after opening 14-4 overall with a 5-3 MIAC mark for first place in the conference. Overall, the Bennies have a 4-6 NCAA Tourney record with Click at the helm. A year ago, the 11th-year head coach directed the Bennies to a 30-10 record and third in the MIAC at 15-5. CSB earned an NCAA Tourney bid and hosted the tournament for the first time – finishing runner-up. Prior to the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the team finished 27-15 overall and earned a second straight at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2019. In 2018, the team set the school record for wins in a season with a 36-10 overall record and earned the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1994. CSB finished 27-13 overall in 2017 and went 16-6 in the MIAC and tied for third. Click finished 22-18 in both 2015 and 2016. In 2014, Click guided CSB to its best season in 10 years with a 28-11 overall record. She is 263-133 overall in her 10 seasons and 134-68 in MIAC play. Click came to CSB from Jacksonville University where she served as an assistant coach for the Dolphins for two seasons. Prior to coaching at JU, she was an assistant at Wisconsin-Eau Claire for the 2010 season. A 2009 Gustavus Adolphus College graduate with a degree in elementary education, Click earned Cum Laude Honors in addition to her decorated softball career. A four-year star for the Gusties, Click was named MIAC Rookie of the Year in 2006 and received all-conference honors in all four seasons. A team captain during her senior season, she was named MIAC Player of the Year and earned All-America honors and a spot on the NCAA Championship All- Tournament team. In the 2009 season, Click led the Gusties to a MIAC title and an NCAA Regional Championship, finishing a game shy of the national championship.
