ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The No. 19-ranked College of Saint Benedict softball team is set to open play in the NCAA Division III Tournament on Thursday (May 14) in Indianola, Iowa.

The Bennies (33-9), who claimed the MIAC regular-season championship and the conference playoff title, begin NCAA regional action against Central College (29-12) at 1:30 p.m., on Thursday in the opening round of a four-team, double-elimination regional hosted by Simpson College. CSB is seeded No. 2 in the regional with Central, third.

No. 10 Simpson (34-5), champion of the American Rivers Conference Tournament, earned its NCAA berth with a 6-1 victory over Loras College in the league championship game. The Storm will face Greenville University (31-11) in the other first-round matchup. Simpson is the top seed and host. The winners of the games play at 11 a.m., on Friday (May 15) with the teams falling in round one placying at 1:30 p.m., Friday (see schedule below).

NCAA Division III Indianola Regional
Thursday, May 14
Game 1 – 11 a.m. – #1 Simpson (34-5) vs. #4 Greenville (31-11)
Game 2 – 1:30 p.m. – #2 Saint Benedict (33-9) vs. #3 Central (29-12)
Friday, May 15
Game 3 – 11 a.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 – 1:30 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 – 4 p.m. – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
Saturday, May 16
Game 6 – 11 a.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 – 1:30 p.m. – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)

Scouting the Regional Field

Central, led by head coach George Wares, enters the regional with a 29-12 record and an NPI ranking of 41 after receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Dutch are making their 34th NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth straight trip to the postseason. Offensively, Central has drawn 163 walks and stolen 135 bases this season. Rylee Dunkin leads the lineup with a .358 batting average and four home runs, while Jadyn Huisman owns a 12-4 record with a 3.25 ERA in the circle. Central holds a 7-4 edge in the all-time series with CSB, though Saint Benedict won the most recent meeting 6-3 on March 30, 2024.

Top-seeded Simpson enters the tournament ranked No. 10 nationally after winning both the American Rivers Conference regular-season and playoff championships. The Storm are batting .357 as a team with a .421 on-base percentage and a .581 slugging percentage while posting a 2.42 team ERA and 10 shutouts. Megan Heidelbauer leads the offense with a .415 batting average, seven home runs and 61 RBI, while Ashlyn Steen is hitting .516 with five home runs. In the circle, Emma LaFave and Marina Cronin are both 15-2 and have combined for 21 complete games. The Bennies are 0-4 all-time against Simpson. The teams last met on March 27, 2015, when Simpson swept a doubleheader in Indianola by scores of 10-9 and 6-2.

Greenville, the No. 4 seed, enters the regional at 31-11 overall with an NPI of 99 after winning the SLIAC Tournament title. Led by head coach Ivan Estevez, Greenville secured its automatic NCAA berth with an 8-7 victory over Spalding University on May 9. The Panthers are batting .362 as a team with 37 home runs and a .534 slugging percentage. Makenna Budde is hitting .398 with nine home runs and 33 RBI, while Anna Cox owns nine homers and 39 RBI with a .364 average. Rylee Bloomer leads the team with a .419 batting average and Ashlyn Colvis has driven in 48 runs while batting .389. If Saint Benedict and Greenville meet, it would mark the first meeting between the programs.

CSB in the NCAA Tournament

Saint Benedict earned the MIAC's automatic bid after capturing the conference playoff championship and moved up to No. 19 in the latest NFCA/GoRout Division III poll. The Bennies enter NCAA play with an NPI ranking of 19 and a 22-game winning streak. CSB punched its ticket to the national tournament with a 9-7 victory over No. 8-ranked Saint Mary's University in the MIAC championship game. The Bennies are making their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018 and seventh overall. Saint Benedict also qualified in 1993, 1994, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2024. CSB owns an 8-12 all-time NCAA Tournament record and advanced to the regional championship round in 2024 before falling to No. 12-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The regional winner advances to the NCAA Super Regional round May 21-22, with the NCAA Division III Championship Finals scheduled for May 28-June 3 in Salem, Virginia.

Tautges Leading Potent Offense

Senior shortstop Olivia Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) continues to power one of the MIAC's top offenses. The NFCA Division III Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on April 14 is batting .464 with 13 home runs, ranking seventh nationally in Division III. She also owns a .602 on-base percentage and a .904 slugging percentage.

Tautges has already established the program record with 32 career home runs and ranks among CSB's all-time leaders in batting average (.408, 3rd), total bases (311, 2nd), slugging percentage (.751, 1st), on-base percentage (.493, 2nd), hits (167), games (137, 7^th) and RBI (123, 3^rd – 3 from 2nd). Her 43 walks this season are a program record, while her 1.02 walks per game ranks second nationally and first in the MIAC.

Nationally, Tautges ranks:
• 7th in home runs (13)
• 5th in on-base percentage (.602)
• 14th in runs scored (57)
• 13th in slugging percentage (.904)
• 14th in total bases (113)
• 1st in walks (42)

She also leads the MIAC in RBI (47), hits (58), walks (43) and OPS (1.506), while recording 19 multi-hit games.

Bennies Boasting Offensive Strength

Lily Treml (Shakopee, Minn.) is batting .407 with a 1.002 OPS and ranks second in the MIAC with 29 walks. Olivia Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.) owns a .376 average with 21 stolen bases in 22 attempts and ranks second in program history with 73 career steals.  Cat Smetana (Lake Elmo, Minn.) is batting .355 with 36 RBI and ranks fifth in CSB history with 173 career hits. She also sits among the program leaders in doubles (4th, 37), RBI (104, 5th)  and games played (147, T-6th). Lauren Freeberg (Rogers, Minn.) has added six home runs and 31 RBI while batting .324, and Alyssa Downhour (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) has six home runs and 22 RBI with a .597 slugging percentage. Sammy Muetzel (Woodbury, Minn.) and Tuscany Ballot (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) have also provided key depth throughout the lineup.

Strength in the Circle

Senior Ellie Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) leads the pitching staff with a 16-5 record, 1,21 WHIP, a 2.01 ERA and 13 straight victories. A three-time All-MIAC selection, Peterson has recorded 17 complete games and four shutouts this season. With her next win, she ties Elly Novak for wins in a season with 17. Novak had a 17-3 record in 2021.

Career rankings at CSB for Peterson include:

• 56-21 record (tied for 1st)
• 53 complete games (T-2nd)
• 492.2 innings pitched (6th)
• 329 strikeouts (5th)
• 13 shutouts (T-3rd)
• 80 starts (1st)
• 94 appearances (1st)

Olivia Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) is 12-2 with a 3.75 ERA and eight straight victories, while Kaitlyn Pink (Delano, Minn.) owns a 5-2 mark with a 3.41 ERA. As a staff, the Bennies carry a 3.10 ERA with 155 strikeouts in 273.1 innings pitched.

By the Numbers

Through 42 games, Saint Benedict is batting .329 with a .493 slugging percentage and a .430 on-base percentage. The Bennies have scored 314 runs while averaging 7.48 runs per game and have hit 32 home runs with 74 stolen bases. Defensively, Saint Benedict leads the MIAC with a .968 fielding percentage, which ranks among the top 35 nationally in Division III.