NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team will begin its run at the 2019 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Softball Playoffs on Friday against the University of St. Thomas.
The fourth-seeded Oles will take on the host and top-seeded Tommies in the opening game of the double-elimination tournament at UST's South Field at 2:30 p.m. The second game of the day will feature third-seeded Hamline University against second-seeded St. Catherine University at 5 p.m.
Daily admission charge is $10 for adults and $2 for students (ages 5 and under are free). MIAC passes are accepted. No pets are allowed at the facility. Fans are directed to park in the Anderson Parking Facility, which is the ramp located at the intersection of Cretin and Grand. Fans may also park in Lot O beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, but space in that lot is limited.
St. Olaf is appearing in the MIAC Playoffs for the second-straight season and the fourth time since the tournament began in 2004, having previously made the field in 2010, 2013 and 2018. The Oles are 3-6 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs, winning their opener last season and twice in pool play in 2013.
St. Thomas is the lone institution in the conference to appear in the MIAC Playoffs in each season since the tournament began in 2004 and is 44-6 all-time in the tournament. The Tommies have won MIAC Playoff titles in 13 of the tournament's 15 seasons to date, with Gustavus (2015) and St. Catherine (2017) each winning on one occasion.
Friday's opening game will be the third all-time postseason meeting between the Oles and Tommies, with St. Thomas most recently defeating St. Olaf, 6-0, in game three of last season's MIAC Playoffs. The Tommies also topped the Oles, 9-2, in the 2010 tournament. St. Thomas won the two regular-season meetings in St. Paul on Apr. 6, winning the nightcap, 1-0, despite being no-hit by Graf after an 11-3 UST win in the opener.
St. Olaf is led by junior pitcher
Julie Graf, who currently leads NCAA Division III and ranks second in all levels of the NCAA with 303 strikeouts this season. Graf, who is the MIAC's all-time leader in strikeouts, is 17-9 overall with a 1.88 ERA and has won her last eight decisions. Sophomore
Abby Grismer (3-0, 2.55 ERA), first year
Sydney Robson (4-3, 2.98 ERA) and first year
Carly Dammann (1-0, 3.75 ERA) have also featured in the circle for the Oles.
Senior
Emily Carr leads St. Olaf in batting average (.372), hits (42), runs (24), doubles (19), home runs (3), RBI (26), slugging percentage (.619) and on-base percentage (.424) this season. Carr, who is St. Olaf's all-time leader in career RBI, is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak that has raised her average from .298 to .372.
Sophomore
Ally Bode is batting .323 and leads the team with 14 stolen bases, while ranking second to Carr in runs with 19. Grismer (.294), sophomore
Jordan Melz (.287), first year
Tarah DeCroock (.286) and senior
Alison Curry (.280) are all batting at least .280, while sophomore
Hannah Matthies has drove in 22 runs to rank second on the team.
The Tommies enter the MIAC Playoffs as the No. 1 seed and are ranked No. 4 in the country by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). St. Thomas has won 20 of its last 21 games since a 5-1 loss to open a doubleheader against Hamline on Friday, Apr. 5 and is 35-5 overall (19-3 MIAC) this season.
Senior Melissa Barry ranks second in the MIAC in batting average (.451) and St. Thomas has three of the MIAC's top-five run producers in senior Chase Shortly (2nd, 48 RBI), senior Dana Connelly (3rd, 42 RBI) and junior Elise Barnes (5th, 35 RBI). Barnes is tied for the MIAC lead in home runs (8), while Barry leads the conference with 25 stolen baess.
In the circle, the Tommies are led by junior pitcher Kierstin Anderson-Glass, who leads the MIAC in wins (18) and ERA (0.93) this season. Anderson-Glass ranks sixth in NCAA Division III in ERA, helping St. Thomas compile the 11th-best team ERA in the country (1.67). The Tommies' fielding percentage of .978 is third-best nationally.
