COLUMBUS, Ga. – Behind a powerful offensive weekend from Olivia Tautges and strong pitching performances by Olivia Wallace and Ellie Peterson, the College of Saint Benedict softball team (6-4) extended its winning streak to three games with an 8-0 victory over Spalding and a 5-4 win against Mount Union on Sunday at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

The Bennies totaled 13 runs on 19 hits while sweeping the pair of nonconference games to close the tournament. Saint Benedict finished the six-game event with a 4-2 record.

Next, CSB travels to Oregon for a stretch of nonconference doubleheaders, beginning with George Fox on March 17. The Bennies are also scheduled to face Lewis and Clark on March 18 and Linfield on March 19.

Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) continued her torrid start to the season, collecting five hits in seven at-bats with five runs scored, two home runs, two doubles and three RBI on Sunday. Over six games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, she paced the Bennies by going 14-for-24 (.583) with 10 runs scored and 10 RBI as CSB posted a 4-2 record. Tautges also homered three times during the weekend, extending her hitting streak to nine games and boosting her season average to .611 with a 1.778 OPS. 

In the circle, Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) earned her second straight win and improved to 3-0 on the season, while Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) moved to 2-3 with her second shutout of the year. Peterson now owns 42 career wins and 11 career shutouts.

During the six-game weekend, Saint Benedict scored 50 runs on 56 hits for a .335 team batting average and recorded 16 extra-base hits.

Saint Benedict 8, Spalding 0

Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) delivered a dominant performance in the run-rule shortened opener, allowing just one hit and striking out seven batters as the Bennies posted an 8-0 victory.

Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) led the offense with four hits, four runs scored and three RBI in four at-bats, slugging two home runs to increase her season total to four and her career mark to 23. With 12 RBI this season, she now ranks ninth in program history.

Senior Tuscany Ballot (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) added two hits and three RBI, while senior Bryn Ruhberg (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and Olivia Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.) each finished with two hits.

The Bennies struck early, scoring two runs in the first inning and adding two more in the third, highlighted by Tautges' first home run of the game to build a 4-0 lead. CSB extended the advantage with three runs in the fourth inning, and Tautges added her second home run in the sixth as the Bennies secured the run-rule victory.

Saint Benedict 5 Mount Union 4

Senior Sammy Muetzel (Woodbury, Minn.) recorded two hits and an RBI, while Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) threw a complete game as the Bennies edged Mount Union, 5-4, to close tournament play.

Wallace allowed four runs and struck out three in working five innings. She improved to 3-0 on the year and now owns 19 career wins. Kaitlyn Pink (Delano, Minn.) finished for CSB, picking up the save.

Saint Benedict scored five runs on five hits and used aggressive base-running to swipe five stolen bases. Junior Olivia Laudenbach (St. Cloud, Minn.) highlighted the effort with a steal of home during a double steal in the second inning that helped the Bennies take a 2-0 lead.

Mount Union tied the game in the third inning before the Bennies regained the lead in the fourth when first-year Elizabeth Gross (Pierz, Minn.) scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-2. After Mount Union evened the score in the fifth, CSB answered when Muetzel's RBI single scored Ballot for a 4-3 advantage.

Tautges later scored on a wild pitch in the fifth to give the Bennies a 5-3 lead. Mount Union pulled within one on a seventh-inning home run by Addy Antonetz, but Wallace closed out the game to secure the victory.