ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- With a six-game winning streak, the College of Saint Benedict softball team (23-13, 15-5 MIAC) has locked up second place in the MIAC standings and will close out the regular season with a road doubleheader at Bethel (19-18, 12-8 MIAC) on Saturday, May 3. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., with game two to follow.

With the No. 2 seed secured, St. Ben's will receive a first-round bye in the MIAC Playoffs, set for May 8 and May 10. CSB will play in the second round on Saturday, May 10 at 1:30 p.m. in Winona, Minn., hosted by top-seeded Saint Mary's, which also has a bye and will open at 11 a.m. on the same day. First-round matchups on May 8 will see the No. 4 seed host No. 5, and No. 3 host No. 6. As of now, Bethel is tied for third with St. Olaf at 12-8, while Macalester (11-9) has also clinched a spot. The final playoff position remains up for grabs between St. Catherine (10-12), Gustavus (9-11), and Concordia (8-12).

In its 50th season, St. Ben's has accumulated 841 wins and 524 conference victories since their establishment in 1975. This past weekend, CSB won all four games, including 7-4 and 13-3 wins over St. Scholastica with 8-3 and 6-2 victories against Gustavus Adolphus.

Scouting Bethel

Head coach Penny Foore, in her 11th season, has led the Royals to two recent NCAA Super Regional appearances (2022, 2023) and holds 221 career wins. Bethel has won three of its last four games, including a sweep of St. Scholastica and a split with UW-River Falls. The Royals are hitting .285 (5th in MIAC) with 78 extra-base hits (14 HR, 52 doubles), a .400 slugging percentage, and a .367 OBP. Their pitching staff has a 3.69 ERA with 157 strikeouts over 244.2 innings. Offensively, Mikaela Girard leads the team with a .362 average and .461 OBP. Abby Otterness (.343) has added three home runs, five triples, and 15 RBI, while Autumn Earney has belted a team-best five home runs and 19 RBI. Dominique Walicke leads the pitching staff with a 14-6 record and a 2.92 ERA.

Series History

The all-time series between CSB and Bethel is deadlocked at 32-32. In last year's MIAC playoffs, Bethel edged CSB 5-3. In their last regular-season meeting (May 4, 2024), the teams split a doubleheader in St. Joseph, with CSB winning 2-1 after a 1-0 loss. At home, CSB is 17-15 in the series and 15-14 on the road, with a 32-28 MIAC mark overall. The first-ever matchup was an 8-0 CSB win in 1994.

Inside the Numbers – Saint Ben's

The Bennies are second in the MIAC with a .323 team batting average and lead the league in extra-base hits (100), doubles (62), and triples (20). They rank second in slugging (.479) and OBP (.385), and have 65 stolen bases in 74 attempts.

• Cat Smetana (Jr., IF) – Batting .413 (6th MIAC), 1.043 OPS, 52 hits, 39 RBI (2nd MIAC), 13 doubles (4th), .611 SLG (7th).
• Olivia Tautges (Jr., IF) – Hitting .398 (7th MIAC), 1.084 OPS (6th), three home runs, 25 RBI, and MIAC-best five triples (T-1st).
• Bryn Ruhberg (Jr., C/OF) – Batting .390 (9th MIAC), 1.221 OPS (3rd), five home runs (T-3rd), 33 RBI (4th), .707 SLG (2nd), .514 OBP (3rd), and a league-leading 14 HBP. She holds CSB's career record with 25 HBP.
• Lilly Treml (Fr.) – Batting .337, leads MIAC with 23 walks (.456 OBP), and is two walks away from a CSB single-season record.
• Megan Erickson – Batting .324 with three homers and 24 RBI, coming off a 9-for-13 (.692) stretch last weekend. This past week, she was named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week.
• Olivia Van Hout – Hitting .333 with 21 stolen bases (23 attempts).
• Izzy Guttenfelder (Fr.) – Batting .444 with a 1.019 OPS.

In the circle - 

• Ellie Peterson (Jr.) – 10-8 on the year, 3.31 ERA, 73 strikeouts, and 13 complete games. With 38 career wins, she ranks 6th all-time at CSB. Her career stats include 352 innings, 36 complete games, and 256 strikeouts.
• Olivia Wallace (Jr.) – 10-4 record, team-best 2.03 ERA, three shutouts, and seven complete games across 14 starts.