ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 25 College of Saint Benedict softball team (31-9, 21-1 MIAC) captured the 2026 MIAC regular season championship on Saturday.
The Bennies extended their program-record winning streak to 20 games by sweeping Macalester (21-19, 12-10 MIAC) 3-1 and 8-2 at the Macalester Softball Complex. The sweep marked the 10th straight for Saint Benedict and secured its first outright MIAC title. CSB previously shared the championship in 2024 (Bethel, St. Mary's) and in 1994 (St. Thomas).
The 31 victories are the most for the program since 2018, when head coach
Rachael Click (354 career wins – 197 in MIAC play) guided the Bennies to 36 wins.
Top seeded CSB will host MIAC Playoffs
Saint Benedict will now host the MIAC Championship on May 9 at CSB Softball Field, featuring semifinal games at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., followed by the championship at 4 p.m. First-round quarterfinals include No. 4 Gustavus vs. No. 5 St. Catherine and No. 3 St. Olaf vs. No. 6 Carleton. Top-seeded CSB will face the Gustavus/St. Catherine winner at 11 a.m., while No. 2 Saint Mary's meets the St. Olaf/Carleton winner at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets -
MIAC Playoff website (brackets, tournament info.) -
MIAC Championship Gear
Bennies over Macalester – 10th straight sweep
Saint Benedict's offense was paced by senior
Olivia Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.), who went 5-for-8 with three runs scored, two doubles and her 120th career RBI. Sophomore
Lily Treml (Shakopee, Minn.) added four hits in seven at-bats with two RBI, while sophomore
Lauren Freeberg (Rogers, Minn.) totaled three hits, including her sixth home run, and three RBI.
Cat Smetana (Lake Elmo, Minn.) chipped in three hits and two RBI.
In the circle, seniors
Ellie Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) and
Olivia Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.) had outstanding work as the Bennies posted a 1.50 combined ERA. Peterson earned her 55th career win (second all-time) and extended her streak to 12 straight victories, improving to 15-5 on the season. She also set a school record with her 52nd career complete game.
20-game win streak notes
During Saint' Benedict 20-game winning streak, dating to April 8, Tautges has hit .444 with a 1.484 OPS, .631 on-base percentage and .852 slugging percentage, totaling 24 hits, 31 runs, six doubles, two triples, four home runs, 23 RBI and 27 walks. She is now hitting .475 on the year with a .613 on-base percentage and .941 slugging percentage.
Senior
Olivia Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.) has batted .421 with 16 hits, 19 runs and 14 stolen bases. Treml, who is hitting .408 on the season with a .506 OBP, has hit .418 with a team-best 28 hits, along with 18 RBI and 17 runs. Smetana had a .357 average with 25 hits and 25 RBI, while Freeberg has added four home runs and 21 RBI.
As a team, the Bennies hit .350 with 18 home runs during the streak. In the circle, CSB has compiled a 2.15 ERA with 76 strikeouts and 14 complete games. Peterson was 10-0 during the run with a 1.32 ERA and made 12 appearances with nine complete games.
Game 1 – Saint Benedict 3, Macalester 1
In the opener, CSB used a strong effort by Peterson in a 3-1 win, which was the Bennies' 30th win of the season. Peterson (15-5) won her 12th straight game and improved to 15-5 on the season after allowing seven hits over seven innings with three strikeouts on 100 pitches.
Freeberg homered to lead the offense, while Van Hout had two hits and a run scored. Smetana and Treml each added two hits.
CSB took a 1-0 lead on Freeberg's home run and added another run in the second on an RBI single by
Bryn Ruhberg (Lino Lakes, Minn.) In the fifth, Van Hout doubled and scored on a Treml RBI single to make it, 3-1.
Game 2 – Saint Benedict 8, Macalester 2
Wallace was strong in the circle, while Tautges powered the offense with four hits, three runs and an RBI as the Bennies completed the sweep with an 8-2 victory. It was CSB's 31st win and clinched the conference regular season crown as well as the right to host the MIAC Playoffs this coming weekend.
Freeberg added two hits and two RBI, Treml had two hits and an RBI, and Smetana contributed a hit and two RBI. Van Hout scored twice, stole a base and added a hit.
Wallace improved to 11-2 on the season with her seventh straight win, allowing five hits and two runs with one strikeout. Peterson closed out the win, tossing two innings of one-hit relief pitching.
Saint Benedict struck first in the opening inning when Tautges doubled and scored on a two-out RBI single by Freeberg. Senior
Tuscany Ballot (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) drew a bases-loaded walk, and
Sammy Muetzel (Woodbury, Minn.) reached on an error to push the lead to 3-0.
In the second inning, Van Hout was hit by a pitch and Tautges singled before both scored on a two-run single by Smetana. The Bennies added two more runs in the sixth inning on RBI hits by Treml and Freeberg. In the seventh stanza, Tautges capped her four-hit game with an RBI to give CSB an 8-2 advantage.
