ST. PETER, Minn. – Behind strong pitching from Ellie Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) and Olivia Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) along with a productive day at the plate from Tuscany Ballot (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) and Olivia Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.), the College of Saint Benedict softball team (21-9, 11-1 MIAC) pushed its winning streak to 10 games with a 2-1 and 6-2 sweep of Gustavus Adolphus (13-17, 6-8 MIAC) on Tuesday.

With the pair of wins, the Bennies moved into second place in the MIAC standings at 11-1 while improving to 21-9 overall. The program has now reached the 20-win mark in 12 consecutive full seasons. CSB will play another doubleheader on Wednesday against St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn., at 3:30/5:30 p.m., which will be followed by a pair of home doubleheaders against Saint Mary's and St. Catherine this weekend.

Peterson highlighted the day by earning her seventh straight victory to improve to 10-5. The milestone win marked the 50th of her career, and she added her 48th career complete game. She becomes just the second pitcher in program history to reach 50 wins, joining Megan Erickson (56, 1997-00). Wallace also picked up a win, moving to 6-2 with the game two decision.

Offensively, Van Hout led the way by hitting .714 (5-for-7) with two runs and two stolen bases, giving her nine steals this season and 61 for her career (tied for third all-time at CSB). Ballot went 4-for-7 (.571) with two runs, while senior Olivia Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) added her 13th home run of the season and the 32nd of her career, extending her program record.

Game 1 – Saint Benedict 2, Gustavus Adolphus 1
Van Hout recorded a career-high four hits, and Peterson tossed a complete-game five-hitter to lead the Bennies to a 2-1 victory. Peterson allowed just one run on five hits and needed only 77 pitches to secure her seventh straight win. Tautges and Alyssa Downhour (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) each drove in a run as CSB finished with seven hits.

Game 2 – Saint Benedict 6, Gustavus Adolphus 2
Ballot collected three hits, Tautges homered, and Wallace delivered a solid outing in the circle as the Bennies completed the sweep with a 6-2 win. Wallace worked five innings to earn the victory, while first-year Kaitlyn Pink (Delano, Minn.) closed the game with two scoreless frames.

CSB totaled 12 hits in the nightcap, with Lily Treml (Shakopee, Minn.) and Sammy Muetzel (Woodbury, Minn.) each contributing two hits and two RBI. Senior Bryn Ruhberg  (Lino Lakes, Minn.) added a double and an RBI, while Van Hout chipped in a hit and a run scored, raising her season average to .375. Tautges opened the scoring with her home run, and the Bennies added two runs in both the second and third innings before tacking on another in the fifth inning.