DUNDAS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team moved into third place in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings by sweeping Bethel University by scores of 3-1 and 6-5 on Saturday evening at the Dundas Dome.
In the opener, first year
Andrea Conway delivered the pinch-hit, go-ahead RBI single for St. Olaf (19-11, 9-5 MIAC) as part of a two-run seventh that broke a 1-1 tie and junior
Julie Graf shut down Bethel (19-5, 4-4 MIAC), the top-hitting team in NCAA Division III, with a 14-strikeout complete game. After taking a three-run lead with a three-run sixth inning in the nightcap, the Oles had to hold on in the seventh, leaving the bases filled with Royals to complete the sweep.
St. Olaf 3, Bethel 1 | Box Score
With the score tied at 1-1, Conway plated
Jordan Melz with an infield single with one out in the seventh and
Kate Arneson followed with an RBI groundout to put St. Olaf ahead. Graf took care of the rest, limiting Bethel to one run on four hits with 14 strikeouts for her 12th victory of the season.
The Royals entered the day leading NCAA Division III in batting average (.421) and runs per game (9.50).
Graf got strikeouts to end each of the first two frames, as Bethel left three runners in scoring position early on. St. Olaf finally broke through in the top of the fourth when
Emily Carr drove in
Ally Bode with a double to right with two outs after Bode singled to start the inning.
Bethel got the run back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by Allie Fauth. The Royals threatened to take the lead with the bases loaded and one out, but Carr dove to tag out a runner trying to score on a wild pitch and Graf finished the inning with a strikeout to keep the score at 1-1.
In the top of the sixth, St. Olaf nearly took the lead, but pinch runner
Kaelin Sbrocco was thrown out at the plate attempting to score by Amanda Gemuenden on a fly ball to right.
Melz led off the top of the seventh with a single to right and moved to third on a one-out ground-rule double to right by
Hannah Matthies. Conway followed with an infield hit to second before Arneson gave the Oles an insurance run by scoring pinch runner
Rachel Niederkorn with a groundout.
Graf retired the final seven batters of the game to finish off her 13th double-digit strikeout performance of the season.
St. Olaf 6, Bethel 5 | Box Score
After St. Olaf took a 6-3 lead into the final half inning, Bethel scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one-run game and still had the bases loaded with two outs, before Graf ended the game with her 22nd strikeout of the evening.
Carr and Bode both went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, with Carr also scoring a run, to lead the Oles offensively.
St. Olaf jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with three runs on just one hit in the top of the first. A pair of walks put two on with two outs before a throwing error led to the first run of the frame. Carr followed with a two-run double down the right-field line to cap the three-run inning.
Bethel tied the game with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth, before St. Olaf went back ahead by three with a three-run sixth. With the bases loaded and two away,
Kaleigh Santmyer reached on an infield single to short to break the tie and Bode followed with a two-run single to center to score two more.
The Royals made it interesting in the seventh, filling the bases with two outs, prompting the Oles to bring Graf back into the game. After a hit batter and a walk made it a one-run game, Graf got Fauth, a .462 hitter entering the day, to strike out swinging to end the game just before midnight.
Graf finished with eight strikeouts over 3.1 innings of one-run ball, working the first three-plus innings before finishing off the win.
Abby Grismer picked up her second victory of the season, allowing two runs in three innings.
Calli Maki suffered just her second loss of the season for Bethel, giving up six runs (three earned) in the complete game. Maki walked seven and struck out 10 while falling to 8-2.
St. Olaf is scheduled to travel across town to face Carleton College on Wednesday, Apr. 17 with first pitch at 3:30 p.m.
