CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The College of Saint Benedict softball team (6-8) split a nonconference doubleheader with Coe College (7-15) on Saturday, March 29. Junior shortstop Olivia Tautges led the way for the Bennies, collecting five hits and three RBIs over the two games.

In the opener, Saint Benedict secured a 3-1 win, with Tautges contributing three hits and two RBIs. Junior pitcher Ellie Peterson (3-5) struck out six batters to help her team to victory. In game two, the Bennies fell just short in a 5-4 loss, despite rallying to tie the game late.

Tautges finished the day hitting .714, with five hits in seven at-bats, including three RBIs. Her performance boosted her season average to .353, adding up to 11 RBIs, a .588 slugging percentage, and a .480 on-base percentage. First-year players Lily Treml and Izzy Radel also played key roles, with Treml contributing two hits and four walks (a .750 on-base percentage), while Radel also had two hits. Peterson, in two appearances, posted a 1-0 record with seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings pitched.

Saint Benedict will return to action with another nonconference doubleheader on Sunday, March 30, against Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. The game times have been moved to 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. due to weather concerns.

Game 1 – Saint Benedict 3, Coe College 1
Junior shortstop Olivia Tautges provided the spark for the Bennies, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs in the 3-1 win. She hit the go-ahead RBI in the fifth inning to score Alyssa Downhour.

First-year Anna Corbid started the game, pitching 2 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and recording one strikeout. Peterson relieved her in the third inning, earning the win by allowing just one run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings, while striking out six.

Also for CSB's offense, Treml and Radel each had two hits in the game.

Game 2 – Coe College 5, Saint Benedict 4
In the second game, Tautges had two hits and an RBI, while junior Cat Smetana contributed a hit and two RBIs. Despite a late rally, the Bennies fell,5-4, to the Coe Kohawks.

After Coe College took a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Saint Benedict mounted a comeback, tying the game with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Smetana's two-run triple drove in Bryn Ruhberg and Treml, and she scored the tying run on an error by Coe. However, Coe responded with a go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth and held off the Bennies for the win.

Peterson started and four runs and four hits over four innings with a strikeout but did not figure in the decision. Junior Olivia Wallace (3-2) took the loss after working two innings, giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts.