ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- "Home Sweet Home." By hitting .418 as a team with a 3.21 earned run average in the circle, the College of Saint Benedict softball team (5-11, 2-0 MIAC) had a successful home-opening series with a sweep of St. Olaf (9-9, 0-2 MIAC), 8-3, and 7-2 in MIAC play on Wednesday (April 3) at the CSB  Softball Complex.

The Bennies captured their second and third straight wins in improving to 5-11 overall with a 2-0 record in MIAC play. Saint Benedict will host Wisconsin-Stout on Thursday, April 4, at 3:30/5:30 p.m.

With the two wins, CSB increased its winning streak against St. Olaf to five games and now hold a 52-27 overall lead in the series.

CSB head coach Rachael Click was pleased with the team's overall performance. "I am proud of the pitchers who put together two good wins. They owned their roles and were ready when we needed them," said Click, who now has 276 career wins in 11 seasons at CSB. "It was great to see a lot of different hitters contribute and continue to put pressure on a good team by scoring often and competing all 14 innings."

By the Numbers –
In the sweep, CSB outscored St. Olaf, 15-to-5, with a 23-to-11 margin in hits. Leading the way was sophomore centerfielder Olivia Tautges who had a career-best day with six hits in seven at bats for an .857 batting average. She also delivered five RBI while scoring three runs. With her performance, Tautges improved to season average to .300 and jumped her OPS to .817. Senior shortstop Bryn Carlstrom was 5-of-7 and hit .714 with four RBI and two doubles. Sophomore infielder Cat Smetana had three hits in six at bats with two RBI as she is now hitting .327 with an .890 OPS in 2024. With her five hits, Carlstrom pushed her batting average to .314 and OPS to .717. Sophomore infielder Sammy Muetzel was 2-of-4 with two walks and junior Megan Erickson had three hits in seven at bats with two runs and an RBI. As a result, CSB slugged .600 and hit .418 on the day.

In the circle the Bennies were led by junior Addy Bowne, who earned the decision in the 7-2 game two win. On the day, Bowne had a 3.60 earned run average as she allowed four hits and two runs with three strikeouts in two appearances. Sophomore Ellie Peterson earned a win in the game one 8-3 victory and finished the day with two appearances, 3.86 earned run average, seven innings, three runs, five strikeouts and two walks. Sophomore Olivia Wallace worked two innings of game one and had a 0.00 earned run average.

Game 1 – Saint Benedict 8 St. Olaf 3
In the opener, Tautges tied a career-high with four hits (Misericordia, March 6, 2023) with three RBI and two runs scored as CSB cruised to an 8-3 victory. While Tautges provided the offense, CSB used three pitchers to hold St. Olaf to three runs and four hits.

Bowne started the game with two innings of work as she allowed three hits and two runs with two strikeouts. Wallace took over in the third inning and held St. Olaf without a hit or run while registering two strikeouts. Peterson (2-4) entered the game in the fifth inning and finished with three innings of one-hit pitching to earn the win. She allowed just earned run while recording three strikeouts.

Aside from Tautges, CSB's offense also had a big contribution from Carlstrom, who had two hits, two RBI and a run scored. Sophomore infielder Sammy Muetzel also had a pair of hits as the Bennies collected 12 as a team.

For St. Olaf, Jenna Peschel (1-3) took the loss by allowing 10 hits and six runs (five earned) in four innings in the circle. Jaelyn Orth finished and allowed two hits and two runs while recording two strikeouts.

CSB jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening inning when Tautges had an RBI single, and Tori Benson had an RBI double to give CSB a 3-0 lead. After St. Olaf scored two runs in the top of the second inning, CSB had the answer by putting up three runs in the fifth inning. Erickson, Tautges and Carlstrom all had RBI and the Bennies took a 6-2 advantage. After the Oles cut the lead to 6-3 in the sixth inning, CSB added two more runs in the home half of the sixth frame. Then, Tautges registered her fourth hit with an RBI single to bring home Bryn Ruhberg. Carlstrom's sacrifice fly plated Smetana for an 8-3 advantage.

Game 2 – Saint Benedict 7 St. Olaf 2
With outstanding work in the circle from Peterson and Bowne, plus three hits each from Carlstrom and Erickson, CSB rallied from a 2-1 deficit to earn a 7-2 win in game two and sweep of the doubleheader.

Bowne (2-1) earned her second win of the season after going three innings and allowing just one hit with one strikeout. She took over after Peterson allowed two runs and six hits with two strikeouts in four innings. However, CSB trailed when Peterson left but with a game-tying run in the fourth frame and three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, CSB put together a strong finish and earned a second straight league win.

The offense was paced by Carlstrom, who had three hits and two RBI. Erickson added three hits and two runs scored and she had her first triple of the season. CSB also had two hits and two RBI from Smetana while Tautges finished off her remarkable offensive day with two hits in three at bats with two RBI.

Madyn Singleton (2-1) took the loss for the Oles. She worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and three runs. Roxanne Ring started and she allowed a run on five hits with a strikeout while Jaelyn Orth finished with 1 1/3 innings of work as she permitted three runs on three hits. Amelia Christenson had two hits in three at bats to lead the St. Olaf's offense.

St. Olaf took a 2-0 a lead after four innings before St. Ben's rallied for a come-from-behind win for the second time in three games. In the fourth inning, Tautges delivered an RBI single to bring home Erickson as the Bennies trailed, 2-1. In the fifth inning, Tautges had an infield single which brought home Ruhberg, and the game was tied. Carlstrom's two-run double brought home Tautges and Erickson for a 4-2 lead. Then, the Bennies put the game away in the sixth inning. Tuscany Ballot's RBI and a two-run double by Smetana pushed the CSB lead to 7-2.