INDIANOLA, Iowa – The No. 19 College of Saint Benedict softball team closed its historic season Saturday afternoon with a pair of tightly-contested games in the NCAA Division III Regional Championship. The Bennies (36-11) forced a winner-take-all second game with a 4-3 victory before falling to Simpson (37-6), 3-2, in heartbreaking fashion in the finale.
Saint Benedict finished the season tied for the school record for wins with 36, matching the 2018 squad (36-10). The Bennies also captured both the MIAC regular-season and playoff championships for the first time in program history and posted a 3-2 record at the regional tournament.
CSB received standout performances throughout the day from several players. Senior
Cat Smetana (Lake Elmo, Minn.) collected three hits and concluded her career with 178 career hits - fifth all-time at CSB.
Lily Treml (Shakopee, Minn.) added two hits, two RBI and three walks across the two games. Senior
Olivia Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) started both contests and finished the day with a 1-1 record and a 1.27 ERA, allowing just two earned runs over 11 innings. Senior
Ellie Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) also contributed in the circle, throwing three innings in relief with a save while allowing only two hits.
Treml, Peterson and Freeberg Earn Regional All-Tournament Honors
Treml, Peterson and
Lauren Freeberg (Rogers, Minn.) were all named to the Regional All-Tournament Team. Freeberg hit .444 during the regional with eight hits, eight RBI, a home run and two doubles while posting a .722 slugging percentage and .474 on-base percentage. Treml totaled four hits, four RBI and five walks during the tournament.
Peterson turned in another dominant postseason performance, finishing 2-1 with a 0.90 ERA in four appearances. She threw two complete games, earned a save and struck out six batters across 23.1 innings. Peterson also established new program records for career wins (58) and single-season wins (18).
In addition, CSB also had solid performances in the tournament from senior
Bryn Ruhberg (Lino Lakes, Minn.), who hit a team-best .455 with five hits, four walks and a .600 on-base percentage, while Smetana added five hits and two RBI during the tournament.
Game 1 – Saint Benedict 4, Simpson 3
Facing elimination, the Bennies responded with a complete team effort to force a second championship game. Strong pitching from Wallace and Peterson combined with timely offense from
Tuscany Ballot (St. Anthony Village, Minn.),
Alyssa Downhour (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Freeberg helped CSB secure the 4-3 victory.
Wallace improved to 13-2 after throwing four innings, allowing one run on five hits while tossing 57 pitches. Peterson earned her second save of the season after pitching the final three innings and allowing one run on two hits.
Simpson grabbed an early 1-0 lead before Ballot answered with her third home run of the season to tie the game. The Bennies then pushed ahead in the fifth inning with two runs, highlighted by Freeberg's go-ahead RBI single that scored pinch runner
Olivia Laudenbach (St. Cloud, Minn.). Later in the inning, CSB added another run on Downhour's sacrifice fly that brought home Treml.
After Simpson narrowed the margin to 3-2, the Bennies added an insurance run in the seventh inning when senior shortstop
Olivia Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) scored following a Simpson throwing error. Simpson plated one run in the bottom of the seventh, but Peterson closed the door to preserve the win.
Game 2 – Simpson 3, Saint Benedict 2
In the decisive game, Simpson scored two unearned runs in the seventh inning to rally past Saint Benedict and advance to the NCAA Division III Super Regional.
Wallace (13-3) was again strong in the circle, throwing a complete game while allowing just one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks across 83 pitches.
The Bennies took a 2-0 lead after Treml delivered a two-run double, while Smetana and
Sammy Muetzel (Woodbury, Minn.) each recorded two hits. Simpson answered with a run before capitalizing on late opportunities in the seventh inning to complete the comeback.
