ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senior Julie Graf threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 victory in game one and classmate Hannah Matthies homered twice in an 8-0 win in game two, as the No. 22-ranked St. Olaf College softball team picked up two road wins over St. Catherine University on Saturday afternoon.

Graf allowed just two baserunners and struck out 12 to pitch St. Olaf (19-3, 17-1 MIAC) to the game-one win in the senior's third no-hitter of the season and the eighth of her career. Graf and Abby Grismer combined to limit St. Catherine (17-11, 12-6 MIAC) to two hits and Matthies went deep twice in game two to stretch the Oles' winning streak to nine games.

St. Olaf 1, St. Kate's 0 | Box Score

Game one was a pitcher's duel between Graf and Kathryn Proper and included just two hits, but St. Olaf scratched across a run in the top of the seventh to claim the win. Graf issued only a leadoff walk in the third and a leadoff hit-by-pitch in the seventh in her first of two victories on the day.

With the game still scoreless, the Oles finally broke through in the top of the seventh, capitalizing on two errors in the inning by the Wildcats. St. Olaf put two on with one out on a single by junior Kaleigh Santmyer followed by an error that put sophomore Annie Landon aboard. Graf then reached on a fielder's choice as Proper's throw to third was errant, allowing pinch runner Jenna Peschel to score the lone run of the game.

Only one St. Kate's runner reached second base in the game, which came in the bottom of the third when Mikayla Grant drew a leadoff walk and stole second with two outs before Graf got a strikeout to end the frame.

With Graf protecting a one-run lead, the Wildcats got a leadoff hit batter to start the home half of the seventh, but that was erased when Landon threw out Shannon Leahy trying to steal for the second out of the inning.

Outside of Santmyer's single in the seventh, St. Olaf's only hit off of Proper was a two-out single by junior Tarah DeCroock in the third. Proper walked three and struck out six in the loss.

St. Olaf 8, St. Kate's 0 (5 inn.) | Box Score

The Oles' bats came alive in game two, as St. Olaf tallied 10 hits, including a pair of home runs by Matthies, to record the run-rule win. The two-homer game was the second of her career for Matthies, who also accomplished the feat in the first game of a doubleheader at Augsburg on April 12, 2018.

Graf and Grismer combined to allow just two hits and struck out eighth, with Graf working the first 3.1 innings before turning the ball over to Grismer, who retired all five batters she faced.

After leaving two runners in scoring position in the first, St. Olaf got on the board in the second with an unearned run. First year Shreya Ashok reached on an infield single, moved to second on a bunt by Graf, got to third on an error, and scored on an error as sophomore Maya Patty stole second.

Matthies followed a Santmyer leadoff double in the top of the third with her first home run of the game to extend the Oles' lead to 3-0. St. Olaf tacked on five more runs in the fourth, scoring on an RBI single by senior Ally Bode, another St. Kate's error, and a three-run home run by Matthies.
 
Both Wildcat hits in the game came in the bottom of the third when St. Kate's put runners on the corners with two outs, but Graf got her third strikeout of the inning to keep the hosts scoreless.

Seven Oles had at least one hit in game two, including two-hit games from Bode, Matthies, and Landon. Santmyer and Matthies each scored twice in the win.

St. Olaf visits Hamline University on Monday, May 3 for a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. in St. Paul.