ST. PAUL, Minn. – With the biggest offensive performance of the season, including 33 runs on 31 hits, the College of Saint Benedict softball team (14-12, 9-1 MIAC) moved into first place in the MIAC after sweeping Macalester (20-8, 7-3 MIAC) on Sunday (April 14).

With 15-5 and 18-2 victories, Saint Benedict captured its 12^th win in 13 games to move to 14-12 overall and 9-1 in the MIAC. CSB, which will travel to face Carleton College, for a MIAC doubleheader on Wednesday, had the best two-game run total this year. In consecutive games, CSB bettered its previous best total in runs scored. The Bennies scored 15 in the opener and then added 18 in game two, which is the most by CSB since a 19-1 victory over UW-River Falls on Feb. 26, 2022.

Led by sophomore Cat Smetana with five hits in eight at bats and junior Sammy Muetzel with four base hits, and six runs plus a .667 average, CSB hit .437 as a team while registering a team slugging mark of .890. Junior Megan Erickson had a team-high six RBI while Olivia Van Hout, Bryn Ruhberg and Tori Benson each contributed five RBI. Ruhberg also had six runs scored while Benson homered twice and Tautges hit her ninth home run of the season. 

Tautges has tied the school record for home runs in a season with nine, which was set in 2014 by Lexi Alm. Benson now has 19 career home runs, which ranks third all-time at St. Ben's. In the circle, CSB had a 3.23 earned run average as sophomore Ellie Peterson (7-4) won for the seventh time and had two appearances and seven innings when she allowed just two earned runs.

By the Numbers – This Week
Reigning Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Athlete of the Week Olivia Tautges had a .611 average, four home runs, 10 RBI, 11 runs, a 1.444 slugging mark and .696 on-base percentage as CSB had a 5-1 week. Smetana hit .550 with 11 hits and four doubles. Senior Tori Benson had four home runs with 12 RBI and a 1.095 slugging mark. Megan Erickson had two home runs and a team-high 14 RBI with an .850 slugging mark. As a team, CSB hit .401 with 66 runs, 71 hits, 18 doubles, 10 home runs and a .684 slugging mark. In addition, CSB was successful on 13-of-14 stolen bases. In the circle, CSB was also impressive with a combined 2.53 earned run average, allowing 13 earned runs in 36 innings while recording 29 strikeouts against just eight walks. Peterson was 3-0 with a 1.17 earned run average with 16 strikeouts in 18 innings.

Game 1 – Saint Benedict 15 Macalester 5
Smetana had a career-high four hits while Erickson supplied four RBI and both Benson and Tautges homered to lead CSB to a 15-5 win over Macalester in game one.

The Bennies rolled up 15 runs while recording 16 hits. Smetana had two runs scored and an RBI to go with four hits. Ruhberg had two hits, two RBI and three runs scored. Erickson added two hits and four RBI while Tautges had two hits, two runs and two RBI while slugging her ninth home run of the season with her fourth home run in five games. Benson had her third home run.

Junior Addy Bowne (5-2) earned the win as CSB utilized three pitchers in the game. Bowne allowed four runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Peterson started and worked two innings, allowing just two hits and an unearned run with one strikeout. Olivia Wallace worked three innings and gave up two hits and struck out four in throwing 53 pitches.

In game one, Tautges slugged a two-run home run in the first inning. In the third frame, the Bennies put up an eight-spot, including a two-run double by Erickson; an RBI double by Bryn Carlstrom, a three-run home run from Benson; RBI double by Ruhberg plus an RBI single by Smetana as CSB took a 10-1 lead. After Van Hout had a two-run single in the fourth inning, CSB led 12-1. In the seventh inning, Ruhberg's RBI single and Erickson's two-run single brought in three more as CSB took a 15-5 advantage.

Game 2 – Saint Benedict 18 Macalester 2 (six innings)
With a season-best 10 runs in an inning, CSB rolled to an 18-2 win in game two as Saint Benedict swept Macalester.

The offense was led by Tautges with three hits, RBI and run scored. Nine players had hits including five players with multi-hit games. Sophomore Olivia Van Hout had two hits, three RBI and two runs scored while Muetzel had two hits and three runs with an RBI. Maddy Kubik scored three runs while Benson hit a home run, scored three runs, and had two hits. Carlstrom added two hits and three RBI in CSB's biggest offensive performance in nearly two years.

Peterson (7-4) earned her seventh win of the season after allowing two earned runs and nine hits with five strikeouts while throwing 91 pitches in her second appearance of the day. Wallace finished up with a strikeout and one hit allowed in one inning.

The Bennies opened the scoring with a single run in the first inning when Tautges hit a double to score Ruhberg. CSB added two in the second frame on Van Hout's two-run single for a 3-0 lead. In the fourth inning, CSB scored three times, adding two more in the fifth frame, and then breaking out with a season-high 10 runs in the sixth inning. In the final frame, Carlstrom had a two-run double, and Benson hit a two-run home run as CSB pushed their run output to 18.