ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The second-seeded St. Olaf College softball team makes its fourth-straight appearance in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs by taking on the third-seeded College of Saint Benedict in the semifinals of the single-elimination tournament on Saturday afternoon at Bethel University.

St. Olaf (23-17, 18-4 MIAC) secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament and a bye into the semifinals with an 18-4 run through the regular-season conference schedule and will meet the third-seeded Bennies in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. for a spot in the championship game. Saint Ben's advanced to the semifinals by holding off a seventh-inning rally by sixth-seeded Gustavus for a 6-5 win on Thursday afternoon.

The winner of Saturday's semifinal will advance to the championship game to face either top-seeded Bethel or fourth-seeded St. Kate's, who play the first semifinal of the day starting at 11 a.m. The Wildcats won their first-round game against fifth-seeded Hamline by a 6-1 score on Thursday thanks to a six-run sixth inning. The championship game is slated to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner earning the MIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Tickets prices for Saturday's game are $10 for adults, $2 for students with ID, and children five and under are free. MIAC passes will be honored but no other passes are valid. Concessions will be available for all three of Saturday's games and parking is available in the West Lot. Live video and live stats for all games will be provided.

St. Olaf is making its sixth appearance in the MIAC Playoffs and has appeared in the tournament in each of the last four seasons (no tournament in 2020) after qualifying just twice in the first 14 years of the tournament from 2004-17. The Oles are 6-10 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs and advanced to the championship series last year before falling to St. Thomas.

Saint Ben's is in the MIAC Playoffs for the ninth time in program history and the seventh time in the last nine seasons. Thursday's first-round win improved the Bennies' all-time record in the tournament to 5-12. CSB has appeared in the championship series of the tournament twice (2004, 2018) under the previous double-elimination format.

The Oles and Bennies split the doubleheader between the two teams in the regular season on April 21 in Northfield. In the opener, St. Olaf used an eight-run first inning – that included a grand slam by Hannah Peschel – to take a big early lead before holding off then-No. 18-ranked CSB for an 11-9 victory. The Bennies bounced back in game two, hitting four home runs as part of an 11-1 five-inning win to salvage the split. CSB has won seven of the last 10 meetings in the series dating back to 2017, but the Oles are 53-13 (.815) in their last 66 games against MIAC opposition dating back to early in conference play in the 2019 season.

St. Olaf and Saint Ben's have only met once previously in the MIAC Playoffs, a 5-4 elimination-game victory for the Bennies in 2018 at St. Thomas. The Oles took a 4-1 lead on No. 13 CSB before Saint Ben's forced the game to extra innings and won it with an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth. Fifth-year seniors Abby Grismer and Jordan Melz both started that game for St. Olaf.

St. Olaf has had arguably the top offense in the MIAC this season in conference play, leading the MIAC in runs (144), on-base percentage (.410), and RBI (132), while ranking second in hits (202) and batting average (.330) in conference games. The Oles also boast the MIAC's third-best ERA (3.06) against conference opposition.

Sophomore Shreya Ashok set St. Olaf's single-season hits record during the regular season with 54 hits and is hitting .412 this season. In conference games, Ashok ranks tied for third in the MIAC in hits (34), fifth in runs (21), and eighth in batting average (.425).

The Oles are the only team in the MIAC with five hitters in the top 20 in batting average in conference contests, as junior Maya Patty (seventh, .426), Peschel (12th, .405), sophomore Katie Weisheit (15th, .393), and senior Tarah DeCroock (17th, .388) join Ashok in the top 20. DeCroock also ranks in the top 10 in doubles (8), runs (19), and RBI (18), while junior Andrea Conway sits tied for third in RBI with 21 in 21 games. Peschel is also fifth among MIAC hitters in slugging percentage in conference games at .643.

St. Olaf has used five pitchers this season and is led in the circle by sophomore Jaelyn Orth, who is 10-7 with a 2.83 ERA in 84.0 innings of work. Orth is 8-1 in 11 appearances in MIAC play this season, with the eight victories tying for second-most among conference pitchers. The sophomore's 2.50 ERA and 6.68 strikeouts per seven innings in conference games are both fifth-best in the MIAC. Sophomore Jenna Peschel is 5-0 in MIAC contests and holds the third-best ERA (1.77) in conference contests this spring.