ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - There's been no such thing as a sophomore slump when it comes to the College of Saint Benedict softball team this season. 

In fact, it's a sophomore surge that has helped propel the Bennies to a share of the MIAC regular-season title – the first time the program has done that since 1994 – and the No. 2 seed in this week's conference tournament.
 
"The nice thing about our class is we're all very different," said outfielder Olivia Tautges, whose team begins MIAC tournament play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Winona against the winner of Thursday's first-round matchup between No. 6 seed Macalester and No. 3 seed Bethel.
 
As the top seed, St. Mary's is the host school for the semifinals and final, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament on the line.
 
"We're versatile," Tautges continued. "Every single one of us is able to do something different and that's part of what's made us such a deep team."
 
Indeed, 11 of the 20 members of CSB's roster this season are sophomores – including some of the team's biggest contributors.
 
"Last year, we had a large and impactful senior class," Bennies coach Rachael Click said. "Our talented sophomores have been eager to step in and fill openings on the field while helping our program continue to improve and be competitive on a national level."
 
Leading the way is Tautges, already a three-time MIAC player of the week this season. She is batting a team-best .417. Her 44 RBI lead the conference while her single-season school record 14 home runs rank third in all of Division III.
 
Then there's pitcher Ellie Peterson, who is 13-5 with a team-best 2.93 ERA and 91 strikeouts. Peterson, last season's MIAC rookie of the year, is 13-1 since March 30 and recorded her team's lone save of the season in a 2-1 victory in game two of a regular season closing doubleheader against Bethel Saturday that sealed a share of the conference title for her team.
 
"We graduated Elly (Novak), who was our ace last season," said Peterson, who has a 1.34 earned run average with 11 complete games during that span and in three games this week had a 0.47 earned run average. "So, I knew coming into this season that I'd have to carry more of the load. But I struggled at the beginning of the year. It wasn't until (a 6-3 nonconference road win over then No. 24 Central College on March 30 in which she pitched all 11 innings) that I got things turned around. After that, I felt a lot stronger and more confident."
 
Behind the big two, there is plenty of other sophomore talent. Infielder Cat Smetana is batting .354 with 46 hits (tying her for second on the team) and 10 doubles. Catcher/infielder Bryn Ruhberg is batting .336.
 
Utility player Sammy Muetzel has started 38 games and is batting .294. Olivia Wallace (5 wins, 53 strikeouts) has been a big part of the Bennie rotation.
 
"It's taken all 20 players to get to where we're at," said Smetana, whose team is 17-5 in MIAC play and 24-16 overall. "It's not just one player or one class. But it feels good to know as sophomores that we've been able to make a big impact performance-wise. On any given day, there might be six or seven of us in the starting lineup.
 
"We're all still young, but we've been stepping up."
 
Some of the team's sophomore class knew each other before they arrived at CSB. Ruhberg – a Centennial High School graduate – played separately at the club level with both Smetana – a Stillwater graduate – and Peterson, who played at St. Anthony Village.
 
And they'd all heard of Tautges, an All-State honorable mention selection and Miss Softball finalist at Brainerd High School.
 
"There was some familiarity there and that made it more exciting to come here knowing the level of talent we were bringing in," Ruhberg said. "I thought we'd have the chance to be pretty special and it's been fun to see that start to play out."
 
What would make this season even more special would be winning an MIAC tournament title and advancing to NCAA play.
 
"That's been the major goal all season," Peterson said. "We want to make the NCAA tournament. We were disappointed when we didn't make it last year, but I think that made us work so much harder in the offseason.  We want to get that accomplished – both for what it would mean for the players on this season's team and for the confidence it will build going into the future."