NORTHFIELD, Minn. - With a dominant pitching performance from
Ellie Peterson and home runs from
Cat Smetana and
Megan Erickson, the College of Saint Benedict (12-10 overall, 4-2 MIAC) earned a doubleheader split against St. Olaf (12-10, 3-3 MIAC) on Wednesday, April 9. The Bennies took the opener 7-1 before narrowly falling, 3-2, in game two.
Saint Benedict has now won eight of its last 11 games and looks ahead to a weekend stretch, traveling to St. Catherine on Saturday, April 12, followed by a home matchup against Macalester on Sunday, April 13 at the CSB Softball Field.
Game 1 – Saint Benedict 7, St. Olaf 1
Ellie Peterson was lights out in the opener, tossing a complete-game three-hitter while allowing just one run and striking out two. The win moves her to 5-5 on the season with seven complete games. Over her last two starts, Peterson has surrendered only five hits and one earned run across 14 innings, good for a 0.50 ERA.
Offensively, CSB struck early and often. Erickson launched a solo home run in the second to get things started, while
Addy Bowne's two-run single in the third made it, 3-0. The Bennies tacked on more in the fourth thanks to Smetana's home run and a St. Olaf error that allowed
Izzy Radel to score. Two more runs in the fifth sealed the 7-1 win.
First-year standout
Lily Treml went 3-for-3 in the game, finishing the doubleheader with four hits in five at-bats and an impressive .857 on-base percentage.
Game 2 – St. Olaf 3, Saint Benedict 2
Despite a strong start and another complete game from
Olivia Wallace, the Bennies came up just short in the second game. Wallace (5-3) allowed seven hits and three runs with a strikeout and a walk in her third consecutive complete-game effort.
CSB jumped ahead early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first on Smetana's RBI double. Freeberg followed with her second homer of the season in the third inning to extend the lead to 2-0. However, St. Olaf responded with two runs in the fifth and plated the go-ahead run in the sixth to secure the 3-2 victory.
Smetana continues to lead CSB at the plate, hitting .395 with a .579 slugging percentage, followed closely by
Olivia Tautges (.387 AVG, .640 SLG) and
Bryn Ruhberg (.358 AVG). The CSB pitching staff combined for a 2.15 ERA over the two games, with solid efforts from both Peterson and Wallace.