ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – 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 (11-1, 2-0 MIAC) 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. CSB, which is 2-0 and at the top of the MIAC, also recorded a 7-3 win as Spencer had four hits, including a pair of home runs. As a result, CSB, which last played on March 11, is now 11-1 overall and host Augsburg in a MIAC doubleheader on Saturday.
Aside from Spencer's heroics, first-year
Cat Smetana had her first-career home run which tied game two with one out in the seventh inning.
Tori Harren had four hits as she is now hitting .394 with a 1.004 OPS. And, the Bennies had standout pitching efforts from senior all-region pitcher
Elly Novak, who improved to 6-1, and by first-year
Ellie Peterson who extended her record to 5-0 with a complete game in the eight-inning game two victory.
As for Spencer, she has a nine-game hitting streak and is hitting a team-best .500 with an incredible 1,491 OPS. Spencer, who has 10 hits in her past 16 at bats, now has a .853 slugging mark and .638 OPS. With six hits in seven at bats against St. Olaf, she now has 17 on the season, including three home runs and 12 RBI. Spencer also had four stolen bases in the doubleheader.
Saint Benedict 7 St. Olaf 3
With
Gabby Spencer providing four hits, including two home runs, and four RBI and
Elly Novak throwing a complete game, CSB took a 7-3 decision in the opener.
Novak, who improved to 6-1 on the season, held St. Olaf to seven hits and three runs while recording four strikeouts. With her fourth complete game, Novak now has a 1.52 earned run average and .87 WHIP with 46 strikeouts in 41.1 innings.
Spencer had a home run to open the game, smashing a shot over the left field fence to give CSB a 1-0 lead. The Bennies added two runs in the third inning with single runs in the fourth and five frames and two more in the six inning. After the Oles closed to within 5-2 on a two-run home run by Amelia Christenson in the top of the sixth inning, Spencer hit her second home run of the game for a 7-2 lead in the home half of the sixth frame.
Also, for the Bennies,
Jordyn Swoboda had two hits and an RBI while
Tori Harren also had a pair of doubles and an RBI. CSB totaled 10 hits off a pair of St. Olaf pitchers. Madyn Singleton (1-3) took the loss after going 3 2/3 innings and allowing four runs on six hits.
Saint Benedict 3 St. Olaf 2 (eight innings)
In game two,
Ellie Peterson threw a complete game,
Cat Smetana had her first career home run and
Gabby Spencer provided a walkoff single to help the Bennies extend their winning streak to nine games and open the MIAC at 2-0.
St. Olaf had single runs in the second and third innings and led late until Spencer and Smetana stepped up. Spencer singled and later scored on Harren's run-scoring single in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 2-1. Then,
Cat Smetana had her biggest hit in her first year at CSB with a one-out game-tying career-first home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning,
Tiffany Thompson doubled and advanced to third on a passed ball. Then, Spencer came through with a walk-off single to the left-center field fence.
Peterson (5-0) continued to shine in the circle in her first year with CSB. She worked eight innings, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out six. Peterson, who had her fourth complete game of the year, extended her record to 5-0 and lowered her earned run average to 1.97 with a 1.06 WHIP.
In game two, both Spencer and Harren had two hits to lead CSB's offense. Jenna Peschel (1-5) was the hard luck losing pitcher for the Oles. She had four strikeouts and allowed six hits with three runs.
