NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team won game two on a walk-off wild pitch after dropping game one of its Senior Day doubleheader against St. Catherine University on Saturday afternoon at Mabel Shirley Field.

St. Catherine (17-17, 11-7 MIAC) jumped out to a big early lead with a six-run first inning on its way to a 10-4 victory in game one and held a 7-3 lead in the fifth inning of game two. Trailing by four, St. Olaf (18-18, 12-6 MIAC) scored twice in the fifth, once in the sixth, and twice more in the seventh to snatch a walk-off victory and salvage a split.

Before the first game, St. Olaf honored its senior class of Kaitlyn Miller, Andrea Conway, and fifth-year senior Tarah DeCroock, along with their families, on the field for their efforts and dedication to the program over the last four or five seasons. The trio has helped the Oles to appearances in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs in each of the last two seasons and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2021. Conway and DeCroock were also part of the 2019 team that also qualified for the MIAC Playoffs.

With two doubleheaders remaining in the regular season, St. Olaf remains in third place in the MIAC standings and is next in action at Macalester College on Monday, May 1. Game times are scheduled for 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. in St. Paul.

St. Kate's 10, St. Olaf 4 | Box Score

St. Kate's used a six-run top of the first that included six-straight hits to take game one. Erica Pronschinske held St. Olaf scoreless over the first five-plus innings before the Oles scored four runs over the final two innings.

Sophomore Medora Rylee was the lone St. Olaf hitter with multiple hits in the opener, going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Junior Hannah Peschel drove in three runs with a seventh-inning double.

After an error to start the game and a sacrifice bunt, the next six Wildcats recorded hits, including a three-run home run by Jasmine Ziegler that stayed just inside the left-field foul pole. Pronschinske's pitching helped St. Kate's maintain the 6-0 lead until the visitors added a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Sarah Posey.

St. Olaf finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Rylee led off with a double to deep center, moved to third on a ground out by Peschel, and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Conway. St. Kate's got a three-run double from Kylee Kohout in the next half inning to stretch its lead to 10-1.

The Oles didn't go quietly in the bottom of the seventh, generating a two-out rally that culminated in Peschel's three-run double. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, pinch hitter Katie Weisheit drew a walk and DeCroock and Rylee singled to fill the bases for Peschel, who laced a bases-clearing double to deep right center. Pronschinske got the next batter to finish off the complete-game win.

St. Olaf 8, St. Kate's 7 | Box Score

After St. Olaf opened up an early 3-0 lead, St. Kate's scored the game's next seven runs to build a 7-3 lead in the middle innings, but the Oles fought back over the final three frames to gain a split. Trailing 7-6 in its final at bat, St. Olaf tied the game on an RBI double by Amelia Christenson before scoring the winning run on an errant pitch on an attempted intentional walk.

Peschel and DeCroock both homered in game two for the Oles, as Peschel was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI and DeCroock was 1-fo-r3 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rylee added her fifth multi-hit game in the last six games with a 2-for-3 performance that included a double, a run, and an RBI.

First year Madyn Singleton earned her third victory of the season after throwing 3.2 innings in relief of classmate Roxanne Ring. Singleton yielded two runs on just thee hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Peschel gave the Oles a jolt in the first inning with a two-run home run to left after DeCroock drew a leadoff walk. The long ball was the junior's second of the season. St. Olaf stretched its lead to 3-0 in the second on a sacrifice fly by Rylee after senior Annie Landon singled, stole second, and got to third on a deep fly ball.

After getting on the board with a run in the third, St. Kate's went in front with its second six-run inning of the day in the fourth, highlighted by a grand slam by Helen McKinnon. The Wildcats protected the 7-3 lead until St. Olaf halved its deficit in the fifth, scoring on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a run-scoring ground out by Christenson.

DeCroock belted her fourth home run of the season – tied with Christenson for the most on the team – in the sixth to make it a one-run game and set up the seventh-inning dramatics. The Oles tied the game on Christenson's one-out double to the gap in left center that scored pinch runner Elle Brandt from second. With the winning run at second, junior Katie Weisheit reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners with still just one out. After a stolen base and a pop up, St. Kate's looked to intentionally walk DeCroock, but the second pitch of the at bat sailed to the backstop, allowing pinch runner Belle Schmidt to scamper home just before the throw for the winning run.