ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Sometimes the biggest success stories start with being in the right place at the right time.
 
That's certainly the case when it comes to Ellie Peterson's career at the College of Saint Benedict.

 

The Bennie senior pitcher is a three-time All-MIAC pick who is on pace to make it four in a row this spring. Heading into her team's MIAC doubleheader against Gustavus today (April 21) in St. Peter, she already boasts 49 career victories (tying her for second in school history), including six in a row, and 306 career strikeouts (which puts her in the program's top six).
 
She has 47 career complete games – including eight in a row – and 13 career shutouts, including four this season. She now ranks tied for third in school history in shutouts and fourth in complete games for a career.
 
But the St. Anthony Village High School graduate might never have ended up at CSB in the first place had she not had an outstanding outing in a random regular-season game during the spring of her junior year in 2021.
 
Bennies head coach Rachael Click happened to be on hand that afternoon recruiting Peterson's teammate Tuscany Ballot. 
 
By the time the game was over, though, she was recruiting Peterson too.
 
"When I was in middle school, and even early on in high school, I really wanted to play college softball," Peterson recalled. "But by the time I got to my sophomore and junior years, I'd kind of given up on it because I didn't know if I was good enough. But (Click) was recruiting Tuscany and she came to a game to watch her play. That happened to be one of my better high school games too. Tuscany came up to me afterward and said (Click) had asked about me. We connected after that via email and I think she might have come to another game that week."
 
"I was excited because my dad (Jeff) was a Johnnie who played football here," Peterson continued. "I went up to look at the campus that summer and I knew right away it was where I wanted to be. My parents told me I should slow my roll a little and look at other places. But I don't think I even seriously considered going anywhere else."
 
Indeed, while Ballot spent her first collegiate season at Division II Minnesota State-Mankato before transferring to CSB prior to the 2024 campaign, Peterson made an impact with the Bennies right away.
 
As a first-year in the spring of 2023, she went 13-3 with a 2.12 ERA and 80 strikeouts, earning MIAC rookie-of-the-year honors.
 
"It was such a huge win for us to get a high-level pitcher like Ellie really just by chance," Click said. "As soon as we connected, she had serious interest. I've had to work a lot harder to get a lot of other recruits. She kind of fell into our lap and we've been so fortunate to have her."
 
But while Peterson's play has remained at a high level throughout her CSB career, she said the pressure she placed on herself to repeat her initial success has sometimes been a strain.
 
"I was really scared of falling into a sophomore slump," said Peterson, who still went 15-6 with 103 strikeouts as a sophomore and 12-7 with 73 strikeouts as a junior a year ago. "I felt like I needed to be perfect, and there were times when one bad game rolled into two or three. I was thinking too much when I was pitching and that's not a good thing for me."
 
"I had to learn over time how to let that go and focus on taking it one game at a time," Peterson said. "That's definitely the way I'm playing this season. I know my softball career will be over in a month or so no matter what happens and I'm trying to be super present – to let myself have fun and be super thankful for every moment I have left."
 
That approach seems to be paying off. Peterson currently ranks fourth in the MIAC with a 2.28 ERA and has a team-high 50 strikeouts as her team has a 9-1 start in MIAC play and a 19-9 record overall.
 
"I think the one thing she's really grown into this season is more of a leadership role," Click sad. "She understands every inning of every game matters and she's focused on what she needs to get done. That rubs off on the players around her too."
 
Athletic ability runs in Peterson's family. Not only did her father play football for the Johnnies, but her mother Sara was part of the water ski team at the University of Michigan. Peterson, though, gravitated toward softball at an early age. She received direction from former University of Minnesota standout Angie (Recknor) Waldoch, who is now a pitching coach in the North Metro.
 
"I got connected with her when I was eight years old and I've been working with her ever since," Peterson said. "During middle school and high school, my dad and I would drive a half-hour every Sunday night to work with her in Brooklyn Park or Rogers. So much of my confidence as a pitcher comes from what I've learned from her."
 
"I'm an extremely Type A person and I think that's why pitching appeals to me so much," she continued. "I love the specificity of it, the adjustments you have to make. It's a lot of trying different things to find what works, which really fits my personality."
 
Those traits will likely serve her well as she embarks on her future career path. The exercise science major, who is minoring in psychology, plans to attend physical therapy (PT) school at St. Catherine University following her graduation from CSB this May.
 
"I've known from the beginning that I didn't want a career where I'd be sitting at my desk all day," said Peterson, who had an internship at Twin Cities Orthopedics in Edina last summer. "I want to help people and work with them directly. I went through physical therapy myself when I fractured an ankle in the fall of my junior year in high school. That experience really got me interested, and the more time I spent talking with and shadowing people in the field, the more it solidified the path I wanted to pursue."
 
Before she does, though, there is still a final season of college softball to complete.
 
"We're playing well as a team," Peterson said. "We had a competitive schedule to start the season and that got us ready for conference play. I'd really like to end my career playing in the NCAA (Division III) tournament. That's the ultimate goal we all have our sights set on and I think that's something that's in reach for us if we keep playing the way we're capable of."