MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team (8-8) dropped a pair of games to No. 8 Linfield (14-2) on Thursday at Del Smith Stadium, falling 4-1 and 9-2 despite a strong day at the plate from
Olivia Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.).
Tautges finished the day with two home runs and three RBI, increasing her season total to eight home runs and 27 for her career – second all-time in program history. She also owns 91 career RBI (sixth all-time at CSB) and 133 hits. In 2026, she is hitting .519 with a 1.711 OPS and a 1.096 slugging percentage.
Game 1 – Linfield 4, Saint Benedict 1
Linfield used a two-run third inning and added two more in the sixth frame to take the opener by a 4-1 score over Saint Benedict.
The Bennies were limited to four hits but broke through in the fifth inning when Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) drove in
Olivia Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.) to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Lily Treml (Shakopee, Minn.) added a hit and a walk, while
Cat Smetana (Lake Elmo, Minn.) also recorded a hit and a walk.
In the circle,
Ellie Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) threw her 41st career complete game and fifth of the season. She allowed three runs, walked four and struck out two while tossing 93 pitches over six innings.
Game 2 – Linfield 9, Saint Benedict 2
In the second game, Linfield jumped out early with three runs in the first inning and added four more in the fourth to build an 8-0 lead over Saint Benedict on the way to its 14th win of the season.
Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) provided the offense with a pair of home runs, including her second of the game in the sixth inning to cut the score to 8-2.
Lauren Freeberg and Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.) each added a hit for the Bennies.
Olivia Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) started in the circle and took the loss to fall to 3-2 on the season, allowing seven earned runs with two strikeouts over four innings.
Kaitlyn Pink (Delano, Minn.) worked the final two innings, giving up one run on two hits.
Saint Benedict will return home for a nonconference doubleheader against Bethany Lutheran on March 25.