ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – In the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener for both teams, the St. Olaf College softball team was swept by the No. 14-ranked College of Saint Benedict by scores of 7-3 and 3-2 in eight innings on Friday at CSB Softball Field.
Gabby Spencer was 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI to lead Saint Ben's (11-1, 2-0 MIAC) to a 7-3 victory in game one and added the walk-off RBI single to cap the Bennies' late rally in game two. St. Olaf (6-14, 0-2 MIAC) held a 2-0 lead in game two before CSB scored single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to complete the sweep.
The Oles are right back in action on Saturday, April 8 with a doubleheader against Concordia-Moorhead at the Dundas Dome. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
No. 14 Saint Ben's 7, St. Olaf 3 | Box Score
Sophomore
Amelia Christenson hit her second home run of the season for St. Olaf, but Spencer was 4-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored, and four RBI to power Saint Ben's to a win in the opener.
Fifth-year senior
Tarah DeCroock and sophomore
Medora Rylee both had a pair of hits for St. Olaf in the loss. DeCroock was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and knocked in the final run of the game for the Oles, while Rylee added a pair of doubles in three trips to the plate.
Elly Novak went the distance in the circle for Saint Ben's, yielding three runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts after entering the game having only allowed a run in one of her seven appearances this season.
First year
Madyn Singleton took the loss after surrendering four runs on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts over the first 3.2 innings. Classmate
Roxanne Ring worked the final 2.1 frames for the Oles, giving up three unearned runs on four hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.
St. Olaf got at least one runner on base in each of the first three innings but was unable to get on the board until Christenson's home run. After Spencer's leadoff home run, the Bennies scored twice in the third and got single runs in the fourth and fifth to build a 5-0 cushion.
In the sixth, senior
Annie Landon reached on a bunt single to start the inning and was still at first base when Christenson drove a two-run shot to left with two outs to make it a 5-2 game. The hosts answered in the next half inning on a two-out, two-run home run by Spencer.
Trailing by five again, the Oles pushed across a run in the top of the seventh when first year
Belle Schmidt hit a one-out double, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on DeCroock's single to center.
No. 14 Saint Ben's 3, St. Olaf 2 (8 inn.) | Box Score
Junior
Jenna Peschel kept Saint Ben's scoreless for the first five innings to help St. Olaf to a 2-0 lead, but the Bennies scored in each of the final three innings to claim the walk-off victory. Ellie Peterson outdueled Peschel with an eight-inning complete game for CSB, holding the Oles to two runs on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Peschel was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs on just six hits with no walks and four strikeouts in the seven-inning complete game. Seven Oles had one hit apiece in the game offensively.
St. Olaf scored the game's first run on an RBI double by sophomore
Emma Simons in the second, as Simons' fly ball to right was pushed towards the line by the wind and bounced away from the right fielder. Saint Ben's recovered to throw out a second runner trying to score on the play at the plate.
In the third,
Hannah Peschel hit a wind-aided double to score sophomore
Medora Rylee from first after Rylee singled with two outs. Peterson allowed just two hits over the final five innings after Peschel's double.
Spencer led off the sixth with a single, stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Tori Harren to get Saint Ben's on the board in the bottom of the sixth. In the next at bat, Harren stole second, got to third on a throwing error on the play, and tried to score, but was thrown out at the plate. The Bennies went on to tie the game at 2-2 in the seventh when Cat Smetana homered to right center with CSB down to its final two outs.
Saint Ben's finished off the come-from-behind win in the eighth when Tiffany Thompson led off with a double, got to third on a passed ball, and scored on Spencer's single to deep left center. Five of St. Olaf's last seven games have gone to extra innings.
