COLUMBUS, Ga. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team split a pair of games Saturday at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, falling to No. 14 Huntingdon, 8-4, before rolling to a 21-3 five-inning victory over Spalding.
The Bennies (4-4) moved to 2-2 through the first two days of the tournament and will conclude play Sunday morning with games against Cortland at 8 a.m., and Mount Union at 10 a.m.
Senior shortstop
Olivia Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) paced the CSB offense on Saturday, going 5-for-8 with six RBI across the two games. Tautges extended her hitting streak to seven games and is now 9-for-17 (.529) during the classic. For the season, the senior is batting .586 with a 1.578 OPS, .931 slugging percentage and .647 on-base percentage. Senior
Olivia Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) also contributed in the circle, improving to 2-0 on the season with a win in the second game of the day.
No. 14 Huntingdon 8, Saint Benedict 4
Against nationally ranked Huntingdon (11-1), the Bennies jumped out to an early advantage before the Hawks rallied for the win.
CSB took a 4-2 lead in the third inning behind a three-run triple from
Olivia Laudenbach (St. Cloud, Minn.), who now leads the team with 12 RBI this season. The Bennies finished with four hits in the game, including two from Tautges, who recorded her first triple of the season.
In the circle,
Ellie Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) tossed a complete game for Saint Benedict. Peterson struck out two but fell to 1-3 on the season after allowing eight runs.
Saint Benedict 21, Spalding 3 (5 innings)
Saint Benedict responded in emphatic fashion in the second game, erupting for 21 runs in a five-inning run-rule victory over Spalding (3-6).
The Bennies held a narrow 3-2 lead after three innings before breaking the game open with six runs in the fourth inning and a 12-run outburst in the fifth. The 12 runs in the inning marked the most scored by CSB in a single inning since plating 14 against Carleton on April 16, 2025.
Tautges led the offensive surge with three hits and six RBI, including her 21st career home run and second of the season on a three-run shot.
Smetana added two hits, two runs scored and two RBI, while
Lily Treml (Shakopee, Minn.) recorded a hit, RBI and two runs scored.
Bryn Ruhberg (Lino Lakes, Minn.) finished with a hit, two runs scored and an RBI, and
Sammy Muetzel (Woodbury, Minn.) collected two hits and two runs scored.
Olivia Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.) contributed with two stolen bases, a double, three runs scored and two RBI as the Bennies finished with season highs in both runs and hits.
Wallace earned the win in the circle, allowing two runs on seven hits over four innings while striking out five and throwing 51 pitches.
Anna Corbid (Stillwater, Minn.) closed out the game with one inning of work, allowing two hits and one run.
