ST JOSEPH, Minn. -- The College of Saint Benedict softball team (23-15, 16-4 MIAC), which has already clinched a playoff spot in MIAC Tournament and won 21-of-25 games, will close the regular season by hosting No. 17 ranked Bethel University (27-7, 16-4 MIAC) in a MIAC doubleheader on Senior Day at 1/3 p.m., Saturday, May 4 at the CSB Softball Field.
 
Seniors Tori Benson and Bryn Carlstrom will be recognized with their parents prior to the start of game one of the MIAC doubleheader. The Bennies will also celebrate CSB Employee Day when they host Bethel.
 
The Bennies and the Royals are tied for the top spot in the MIAC with 16-4 records. Saint Mary's is third at 15-5 and Gustavus Adolphus, fourth at 14-6. Depending on the results Saturday, a number of scenarios could unfold that may lead for any of the top three moving into the top seed for the MIAC Playoffs which will be held May 9 and 11. Bethel recorded a home sweep over St. Scholastica on May 1, their fifth double header sweep in a row. Saint Benedict recorded one win and one loss in their past two matchups against St. Scholastica and Gustavus.

In the most recent NCAA DIII regional rankings, CSB softball is ranked sixth and is among three MIAC teams ranked. Central College is ranked first, followed by Coe, Wartburg, Bethel, Saint Mary's, Saint Benedict, and Simpson.
 
Seniors will be recognized pre-game
Tori Benson is a senior infielder and biology major from Kimball, Minn., who was named All-MIAC a year ago. She is hitting .310 this year with six home runs (second, CSB) and has 29 RBI with a .560 slugging mark. Benson has 22 runs, 36 hits and nine doubles with 65 total bases. In her career, Benson is hitting .307 with 21 home runs and 95 RBI along with 18 stolen bases. She has 18 doubles, 117 hits and 76 runs in 136 games played.  With 21 career home runs, she ranks third all-time at CSB and her 95 RBI is sixth in program history. In addition, she is tied for 10th all-time at CSB with 136 games played and with 117 hits ranks 16^th all-time in program history.
 
Bryn Carlstrom, a senior accounting major from Rochester, Minn., is a two-time All-MIAC honoree and has been Academic All-MIAC twice. A year ago she was College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree. Carlstrom, who has primarily started this season at shortstop, is batting .341 with 15 runs, 43 hits, seven doubles and 26 RBI. She has made just two errors with 77 assists and is fielding .985. In her career, she is hitting .332 with 33 doubles, 142 hits, 55 runs in137 games played, which ranks ninth in program history.  Carlstrom is fourth all-time at CSB in doubles with 33, tied for ninth in RBI with 86 (Megan Toninato, 2015-18) and her 142 hits is 11^th in program history.   
 
About the Royals
Penny Foore, who is in her 10th season at Bethel University, has led the team to a 16-4 MIAC record and 27-7 overall. Abby Otterness leads the team in hitting at .414 with five home runs and 34 RBI. Lexi DeBace is batting .382. In the circle, Kayla Simacek (22-5, 1.55 ERA, 19 CG) leads the Royals. As a team Bethel owns a 2.29 ERA and is hitting .331.
 
Series Notes
In the all-time series, CSB owns a 31-30 advantage, including their most recent victory on April 26, 2022 by a final score of 2-1. The Bennies sit 16-14 on their home field and 15-14 in away games while owning a 31-27 MIAC mark with the Royals.
 
Inside look at the Bennies
Directed by 11th-year head coach Rachael Click, Saint Benedict has won 20 or more games 11 straight (full) years. The Bennies are hitting .326 for sixth in the MIAC with a .854 OPS as a team. Saint Benedict has 356 hits (16th, DIII), including 27 home runs (11th, DIII), 67 doubles and 7 triples. Reigning MIAC and Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week Olivia Tautges leads the offense with a .413 batting average and a 1.302 OPS. Tautges, who has 13 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games, has a league-high 13 home runs (4h, DIII) and 43 RBI. (26th, DIII) She has set the CSB school single season record for home runs and ranks tied for third (Gabby Spencer, 2022) with 92 total bases. Junior pitcher/outfielder Addy Bowne is hitting .352 with junior outfielder Maddy Kubik batting .384 and owning 13 RBI with 33 hits. Sophomore infielder Bryn Ruhberg is hitting .349 with an .859 OPS.  Junior outfielder Megan Erickson has five home runs, 32 RBI and a .336 average while leading CSB with 11 doubles. Sophomore Cat Smetana has a .341 average with 42 hits. In total, CSB has 10 players hitting over .300. In the circle, sophomore Ellie Peterson (13-4), sophomore Olivia Wallace (4-9) and Addy Bowne (6-2) have a combined 61 appearances and 38 starts with a 3.82 earned run average. Peterson has a 3.20 ERA and has won 13 straight decisions since March 30. She leads CSB with three shutouts and 10 complete games as well as 83 strikeouts.
 
CSB's offense has produced eight top-10 program marks
In terms of all-time numbers, the Bennies' offensive performance in 2024 is noteworthy. First of all, CSB has 27 home runs for second all-time (30, 2014) and its 219 RBI is also second (250, 2018) while ranking fourth all-time with 513 total bases.  With a .326 team batting average, the Bennies rank fifth all-time in program history with the .475 slugging mark and 239 runs scored ranking sixth. With 352 hits, CSB has the fifth-best mark in school history. In addition, the 66 doubles is seventh with 55 stolen bases ranking 10th all-time at CSB.
 
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. The Bennies split a doubleheader at Gustavus Adolphus on May 1 as Peterson won her 13^th straight decision in a 2-0 shutout. In game two, CSB lost, 9-7, despite a career-first home run by Olivia Van Hout.