ST JOSEPH, Minn. – With four games to play, MIAC leader College of Saint Benedict Softball team (22-14, 15-3 MIAC) will travel to face Gustavus Adolphus (19-17, 13-5 MIAC) in a MIAC doubleheader at 3:30/5:30 p.m., on May 1. 

The game was originally scheduled to be held in Saint Peter, Minn., on Tuesday but due to the heavy rain the games were moved to May 1.

With four games to play in the regular season, CSB sits in first place at 15-3 in the MIAC with No. 17 Bethel at 14-4 (25-7 overall) in second at 14-4 and followed by Saint Mary's (27-9) at 15-5 and then Gustavus Adolphus (19-17) at 13-5. After the doubleheader with Gustavus, the Bennies will wrap up the home regular season schedule by hosting Bethel on Saturday (May 4) at 1/3 p.m., at the CSB Softball Field.

In the NCAA Division III Region IX rankings recently released, the CSB Softball team has been listed among the seven teams. They include Saint Benedict, Bethel, Central, Coe, Saint Mary's, Simpson and Wartburg.

Saint Benedict faced early schedule among best in DIII and now on 20-3 run
The Bennies faced one of the toughest schedules in NCAA DIII with eight games of the first 14 played against teams ranked in the NFCA NCAA DIII top-25. CSB had a walk-off 11-9 win over then No. 12 Belhaven as Olivia Tautges hit a dramatic three-run, game-winning home run. The Bennies recorded a 5-4 win over Emory University on March 7 when Olivia Wallace recorded her first win of her career. In addition, CSB had a come-from-behind 6-3 extra innings (11 innings)  victory over then No. 24 Central College on March 30 as Sammy Muetzel had a sacrifice fly to give CSB a 4-3 lead before Maddy Kubik's two-run single pushed the lead to 6-3 in the decisive 11th inning. Against Central College, CSB had a career-best pitching performance from Ellie Peterson, who worked 11 innings, had six strikeouts, and allowed just one earned run. CSB now has two wins over top-25 opponents this season. 

Against Coe College on March 23, the Bennies dropped 5-4 and 4-1 decisions at the Husky Dome as the snowstorm that hit the area prevented games from being played at the CSB Softball Field. On March 29, CSB dropped 7-1 and 6-5 decisions to Wartburg (12-9) before splitting a pair of games with No. 24 Central College (13-6) falling, 8-1, before winning 6-3 in extra innings in game two on March 30.

Since defeating No. 24 Central College in 11 innings, CSB has won 18-of-20games, including 14-of-16 in MIAC games. CSB has defeated St. Olaf, 8-3 and 7-2 on April 3; UW-Stout, 10-2 and 2-1 on April 4; Augsburg, 9-0, and 9-0 on April 6; and Concordia 12-1 and 10-1 on April 9; The Bennies dropped a 7-2 decision against St. Catherine University and defeated the Wildcats 9-0 in game two on April 13. On April 14, CSB swept Macalester College by scores of 15-5, 18-2 by scoring 33 runs on 31 hits. Then, CSB split a doubleheader with Saint Mary's on April 20 at home. CSB had a walk-off 6-5 win in the opener and fell, 6-4, in game two. The Bennies swept UW-Eau Claire on Sunday, April 21 by scores of 7-4 and 13-7. Then, CSB extended its run to six games with a MIAC doubleheader sweep of Carleton, 14-2 and 11-1. CSB had a 4-0 shutout as Ellie Peterson won her 12^th game and Olivia Tautges hit a three-run home run. CSS stopped CSB, 2-1, in game two of the doubleheader.
 
About the Gusties
Gustavus Adolphus is led by head coach Coley Ries Welter, who is in her fourth season with the Gusties. In 2024, GAC is 19-17 overall with a 13-5 league mark. The Gusties are still in the hunt for a conference title, sitting two games behind CSB and in fourth place. Through 36 games, GAC has a team batting average of .284 with a .356 slugging and .332 on-base percentage. Carly Olson leads the lead at .381 with 24 RBI and a .421 on-base percentage. Olivia Guggenberger is hitting .337 and has 13 RBI. Maizie Anderson has an 11-7 record and 2.77 earned run average in 18 starts with Ava Hamsund at 7-8 with a 2.58 earned run average in 16 starts. Between Anderson and Hamsund, they have 23 complete games a pair of shutouts.

Series Notes
In the all-time series, CSB trails Gustavus, 43-34 with a tie. In the last game on April 11, 2023, St. Ben's registered a 7-2 win over the Gusties. In away games, CSB is 20-18 while they stand 14-24-1 at home and 31-42-1 in league play. CSB has won nine of the last 10 matchups. In this first matchup CSB and Gustavus played to a 7-7 tie on April 15, 1986.

Inside look at the Bennies – Tautges ranked third in DIII in home runs
Directed by 11th-year head coach Rachael Click, Saint Benedict has won 20 or more games 11 straight (full) years. The Bennies are hitting. 328 for fourth in the MIAC with a .862 OPS as a team. In national statistics, CSB is 29^th in doubles (2^nd, MIAC) with 65 as a team. In hits, CSB ranks second in the MIAC and 26^th in DIII with 334. The Bennies lead the MIAC and rank 13^th in home runs with 26 and 16^th in home runs per game at 0.72 in DIII. In addition, CSB is second in the MIAC and 41^st in DIII with 230 runs scored. Sophomore Olivia Tautges ranks third in NCAA DIII and leads the MIAC in home runs with 13 and she is sixth at 0.38 home runs game in DIII. Tautges also leads the MIAC and ranks 26^th in RBI with 42 and her 1.24 RBI per game places her 27^th in DIII. Additionally, the sophomore is 29^th in total bases in the country with 89.

Saint Benedict has 334 hits, including a MIAC-leading 26 home runs, 65 doubles and seven triples. Reigning MIAC and Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week Olivia Tautges, who had a 22-game hitting streak snapped last weekend, leads the offense with a .408 batting average and a 1.315 OPS. Tautges, who has 13 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games, has a league-high 13 home runs and 42 RBI. She has set the CSB school single season record for home runs. Junior outfielder Maddy Kubik batting .372 with an .819 OPS and 13 RBI. Sophomore infielder Bryn Ruhberg is hitting .370 with an .901 and .471 on-base percentage.  Junior outfielder Megan Erickson has five home runs, 32 RBI (2nd, MIAC) and a .340 average while leading CSB with 11 doubles. Sophomore Cat Smetana is hitting .359 with 42 hits while senior Tori Benson has six home runs (21 in her career for 3rd all-time at CSB) and a .301 average. In total, CSB has nine players hitting over .300. In the circle, sophomore Ellie Peterson (12-4), sophomore Olivia Wallace (4-8) and Addy Bowne (6-2) have a combined 58 appearances and 36 starts with 18 complete games a 3.80 earned run average. Peterson has a 3.41 ERA and has won 12 straight decisions since March 30.

Tautges earns program-first third MIAC weekly honor in same season
For the third time this year, sophomore outfielder Olivia Tautges of the College of Saint Benedict softball team has been named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Player of the Week after leading the Bennies to a 5-1 record and hitting over .412 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Tautges, who was named the NCAA DIII Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Softball Association (NFCA) Player of the Week on Tuesday, April 9, is the  13^th Saint Benedict player to earn MIAC Player of the Week honors as the program now has 22 total award recipients. Tautges is just the second CSB player (Sara Wennerstrand, 3/7/2016; 3/28/2016; 3/13/2017; 4/17/2017) to earn three or more MIAC player of the week honors. In addition, she is first CSB player in program history to earn the award three times in the same season. An environmental studies major from Brainerd, Minn., Tautges hit .412 in six games with three home runs, two doubles and 10 RBI. The sophomore center fielder totaled eight runs and 18 total bases with a 1.059 slugging mark and a .421 on-base percentage as CSB won 5-of-6 games. She also had six put outs while fielding 1.000. This week, she had home runs against Hamline, Carleton and a three-run home run against St. Scholastica that help CSB to a 4-0 win. In a doubleheader sweep against Carleton on April 24, she had four hits, four runs and five RBI. Since March 30, Tautges has led CSB to a 20-3 record with 11 home runs, eight doubles and 37 RBI while slugging 1.067 and hitting at a .520 clip. She also has had a .565 on-base percentage. Tautges, who had a 22-game hitting streak end on April 27, has a team-best .408 batting average with 42 hits in 103 at bats and 35 runs scored. She has a CSB single season record of 13 home runs, which leads the MIAC, as does her 42 RBI and 89 total bases. Tautges has eight doubles and a .864 slugging mark with a .451 on-base percentage. Additionally, Tautges has 12 multi-hit games and 13 multiple RBI games this season in helping lead the Bennies to a 22-14 overall record and 15-3 in the MIAC for first place.