ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team dropped both games of a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheader at the sixth-ranked University of St. Thomas, falling 11-3 in the opener and 1-0 in the nightcap on Saturday at South Field.
St. Thomas (18-4, 6-2 MIAC) used a nine-run first inning in the opening game and used a bases-loaded walk in the opening inning of game two to record the sweep. Junior
Julie Graf threw her second no-hitter of the week in game two for St. Olaf (14-10, 4-4 MIAC).
No. 6 St. Thomas 11, St. Olaf 3 | Box Score
After St. Olaf scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to take a quick 2-0 lead, St. Thomas answered with nine runs in the bottom of the frame and went on to take the opener, 11-3, in five innings.
In the top of the first, a pair of walks and a sacrifice bunt put two on with one out for
Abby Grismer, who singled to center to score
Tarah DeCroock for the game's first run.
Hannah Matthies followed by hitting into a fielder's choice to bring in
Emily Carr for the second run of the inning.
The Tommies drew five walks and had four hits in their nine-run bottom of the first, with Elise Barnes delivering the big hit of the inning with a grand slam to left. Dana Connelly had a two-run bloop double to right earlier in the frame.
Three-straight singles from
Jordan Melz,
Ally Bode and DeCroock filled the bases with one out in the top of the second for St. Olaf before
Kate Arneson hit a sacrifice fly to score Melz and make it 9-3. The Tommies added single runs in the third and fourth on their way to the five-inning win.
Barnes reached base all four times for St. Thomas, going 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs and four RBI. Kendall Hopkins picked up her first victory of the season with 3.2 innings of two-hit shutout relief for the Tommies.
No. 6 St. Thomas 1, St. Olaf 0 | Box Score
A bases-loaded walk in the first inning was all the Tommies needed in game two, completing the sweep despite being no-hit by Graf. The no-hitter was Graf's second of the week, as well as her third of the season and the fourth of her career.
The Tommies scratched across a run on four first-inning walks, with Sam Birling drawing a walk with the bases loaded and two outs to bring in the game's only run. The four early walks were the only base runners St. Thomas got off Graf, who retired the last 16 batters she faced.
Kierstin Anderson-Glass threw a five-hit shutout for the Tommies to improve to 7-3 on the season. Graf struck out six in the loss for St. Olaf to surpass 700 for her career.
Five batters had one hit apiece for the Oles, who had a hit in each of the first five innings before Anderson-Glass retired the last eight hitters she faced.
St. Olaf wraps up a stretch of eight games in five days with a doubleheader at Augsburg University on Sunday, Apr. 7. First pitch is at 9:30 a.m. from Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis after the games were moved to Augsburg's domed facility. St. Olaf will be the home team in both games.
