ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team (12-10, 4-1 MIAC), which has won eight of 11 games, has a busy schedule this weekend against a pair of MIAC opponents. The Bennies travel to face St. Catherine (11-13, 3-3) at 1/3 p.m,, on Saturday, April 12 (1/3 p.m.) before hosting Macalester (16-8, 3-3 MIAC) at 1/3 p.m., on Sunday, April 13, at the CSB Softball Field.

Season Overview
In its 50th season, the Bennies have accumulated 830 wins and 513 conference victories since their establishment in 1975. CSB has posted a 12-10 record so far this season, including a 4-2 start and third place in the MIAC.

The season began with a 2-2 split against UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire on Feb. 22-23, highlighted by a walk-off 7-6 victory over UW-Eau Claire, courtesy of a two-run home run from Megan Erickson. CSB later competed in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., where they finished with a 2-4 record. On March 22, the Bennies split a doubleheader with Wartburg, with the second game ending in a 6-4, eight-inning win featuring Lauren Freeberg's first career homer and Olivia Wallace's career-high eight innings pitched.

On March 29-30, the Bennies won three of four games. They defeated Coe College, 3-1, with Olivia Tautges recording three hits and two RBIs, and Ellie Peterson earning the win in the circle. On March 30, the Bennies dominated Grinnell, sweeping the doubleheader by a combined score of 29-9, with two innings featuring eight or more runs. CSB swept Augsburg on April 5, winning 10-7 in the first game and 11-1 in the second, highlighted by Bryn Ruhberg's first career grand slam. Then, CSB split MIAC doubleheaders with Concordia-Moorhead (0-1 loss, 7-0 win); and St. Olaf (7-1 win, 2-3 loss).  

St. Catherine Notes
St. Catherine, which is directed by 12^th-year head coach Colleen Powers, has won three straight games, including a MIAC doubleheader sweep of Carleton, 5-3 (8 innings) and 3-1, as the Wildcats own an 11-13 overall record. SCU, which is 2-4 at home, has a 3-3 MIAC mark. Lucy Mansell leads the team in hitting at .360 and owns a .856 OPS. Annabelle Cook is hitting .333 while Helon McKinnon is at .324 with 14 RBI. As a team the Wildcats have a .284 batting average with 116 runs in its 24 games. In the circle, SCU has a 7.14 team ERA with five complete game. Taylor Graf is 5.4 with a 6.55 ERA while Hannah Bernier sits at 3-4 and 6.25 ERA.

Series History – CSB leads St. Catherine, 59-19
CSB owns a 59-19 overall series lead, including a 9-0 win over St. Catherine on April 13, 2024. St. Ben's owns a 27-11 road record and sit 27-7 at CSB with a 58-18 conference record. In the first matchup, CSB recorded a 3-2 win on May 19, 1986. The Bennies sit 6-4 in the last 10 matchups with the Wildcats.

Macalester Softball Overview
Macalester, which is 16-8 overall and 3-3 in the MIAC, is directed by 13^th-year head coach Jody Gabriel. In her 13^th year, she has 187 wins at Macalester and 295 careers in 16 plus seasons overall. The Scots have split their last eight games. The offense is led by Sophie Futchko, who is hitting .414 with a 1.202 OPS, 10 doubles and 17 RBI. Tess Bojoquez has two home runs and a team-high 28 RBI while hitting .369. In the circle, Rileigh Morlock is 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA while Marthe Miller has a 6-2 record and 2.96 ERA.
 
Series History
In the all-time series, St. Benedict owns a 64-13 overall series edge, including nine wins in a row.  At home, St. Ben's has a 28-6 record and sit 33-7 in road games with a 63-13 conference mark. In the last meeting on April 14, 2024, the Bennies registered an 18-2 win, including 10 runs in the sixth inning. Macalester won the first matchup in the series, a 7-1 decision on April 26, 1986.

Several Bennies earn honors from MIAC & CSB
Under the leadership of head coach Rachel Click, in her 13th season, CSB has enjoyed a successful start to the season. Click celebrated her 300th career win during the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a 5-1 victory over Spalding. Last season, she guided CSB to its first MIAC title since 1994 and a spot in the NCAA DIII Regional, where the team advanced to the regional title game.

Several Bennies have earned MIAC honors this season, including Megan Erickson (MIAC Offensive Player of the Week for her walk-off home run against UW-Eau Claire), Cat Smetana (MIAC Offensive Player of the Week for her performance at the NFCA Leadoff Classic), and Olivia Wallace (MIAC Pitcher of the Week for her strong showing at the same event). Bryn Ruhberg also earned MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after her impressive performance in the Wartburg series. Junior shortstop Olivia Tautges has been a key player, earning St. Cloud Orthopedics/CSB Athlete of the Week honors on March 30 after hitting .615 with a .923 slugging percentage in a 3-1 weekend.

By the Numbers –
Through 22 games, junior infielder Cat Smetana, a two-time All-MIAC performer, leads the Bennies with a .395 batting average and has a 1.004 OPS with 30 hits, including nine doubles, 19 RBI and a .579 slugging mark. In her career, Smetana, who hit her first homer of the year and fifth of her career in the 7-1 win over St. Olaf on April 9, is now approaching 100 hits with 96 in 82 games and is hitting .372.

Junior shortstop Olivia Tautges, catcher/outfielder Bryn Ruhberg and outfielder Lily Treml are all hitting over .350. Tautges, a third team NFCA DIII All-American a year ago, is batting .387 with a 1.074 OPS with three home runs, 18 RBI and a .640 slugging mark. Like Smetana, she is approaching 100 career hits with 90, which includes 35 extra bases hits. She has a .385 career batting average, 19 home runs (3^rd all-time at CSB), and a .714 slugging mark which ranks second at CSB. Tautges has 67 career RBI.  

Ruhberg is hitting .358 with a 1.06 OPS with a team-high four home runs and 22 RBI. She leads the Bennies with a .660 slugging percentage and a .486 on-base percentage. Treml, who had four hits in five at bats in the DH with St. Olaf, is batting .356 with a 1.011 OPS and has 21 hits and 13 runs. CSB has three other starters hitting over .300 including Izzy Radel at .316; outfielder Olivia Van Hout at .313 along with 14 steals in 16 at bats, and Lauren Freeberg at .304.  As a team, CSB is hitting .314 with an .837 OPS with 131 runs and 195 hits and a .465 slugging mark.

In the circle, CSB is led by junior pitcher Olivia Wallace, who has a 5-3 record with a 2.49 ERA in 11 appearances and seven starts. Wallace, who has four complete games, including three in a row this year, has 12 career complete games and a 10-13 record with45 appearances and 165.2 innings. Junior Ellie Peterson has a 5-5 record with a 4.54 ERA. In the past two games, Peterson has allowed just five hits and one earned run for a 0.50 ERA. She has a team-high seven complete games in 2025 with 27 in her career. Her next win will be her 30^th (29-13) and she has accumulated 274.2 innings with 201 strikeouts. Anna Corbid with a 5.09 ERA and has made eight appearances. Addy Bowne has a 0.00 ERA in two appearances. The Bennies have a team ERA of 3.69 with 83 strikeouts in 146 innings.