ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team and St. Catherine University exchanged come-from-behind victories in the late innings of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheader, as St. Kate's won the opener, 14-12, and St. Olaf took game two, 11-5, on Saturday afternoon at St. Kate's Softball Field.

In the opener, St. Kate's (8-12, 1-3 MIAC) scored the final seven runs to overcome a 12-7 deficit in a game that featured 26 runs and 28 hits. St. Olaf (10-8, 1-1 MIAC) returned the favor in game two by plating the last seven runs over its last two innings at the plate to gain a split with an 11-5 win.

Senior Amelia Christenson led the way offensively for the Oles by going 7-for-8 with five doubles, two walks, three runs scored, and eight RBI over the two games. Sophomore Regan Zak was 6-for-9 with a walk, a stolen base, two RBI, and six runs scored as well. St. Olaf hit .408 (29-for-71) as a team in the two games and got on base at a .476 clip on the day.

The Oles will host Bethel University in their home opener on Tuesday, April 8 with first pitch at 3:30 p.m. at Mabel Shirley Field.

St. Kate's 14, St. Olaf 12 | Box Score

St. Olaf held leads of 9-4 and 12-7 before St. Kate's scored the final seven runs of the game to claim a come-from-behind victory in the opener. The Oles did all of their scoring in three innings – two three-run frames and a six-run inning – but the Wildcats tallied at least one run in five of their six innings at the plate.

Christenson reached base all five times, going 4-for-4 with three doubles, a walk, two runs scored, and a career-high-tying five RBI. The four-hit game was the first of Christenson's career and the five RBI are tied for the third-highest single-game total by an Ole since at least 2008.

Zak and senior Medora Rylee also got on base four times apiece in the loss. Zak was 3-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs scored, while Rylee was 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, and two RBI.

St. Olaf jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first when the first four Oles all reached safely. After St. Olaf loaded the bases on an error, a bunt single, and a walk, Christenson plated two with a double and Rylee followed with a sacrifice fly. St. Kate's answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning, however, starting the inning with two walks, a triple, and a home run.

The Oles put up another crooked number with six runs on five hits in the top of the second to take a 9-4 lead. St. Olaf scored its first three runs in the inning on errors by the Wildcats and got RBI doubles from Christenson and junior Elle Brandt later in the inning.

Fifth-year senior Jaelyn Orth got out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the bottom of the second with back-to-back grounders to the circle that turned into a force out at the plate and a 1-2-3 double play. St. Kate's got one run in the third and two in the fourth to trim its deficit to 9-7 after four.

St. Olaf started the top of the fifth with two singles and two doubles, with Christenson doubling in two more runs and Rylee following with a run-scoring double to extend the Oles' lead to 12-7, but Alexa Carlstrom shut out St. Olaf from that point on. St. Kate's scored four runs in the fifth and three in the sixth before Carlstrom left the tying run on base in the seventh to close out the win.

St. Olaf 11, St. Kate's 5 | Box Score

Zak, Christenson, and sophomore Eva Hokanson all had three-hit performances in game two to help St. Olaf pile up 11 runs on 14 hits. St. Kate's led 5-4 after five innings before the Oles scored five runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to pick up the split.

Christenson capped her seven-hit, eight-RBI day by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, a run scored, and three RBI. Zak was 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Hokanson was 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI. Junior Abby Nevin was 2-for-3 with a walk and scored three times.

After junior Madyn Singleton worked the first 2.1 innings, junior Roxanne Ring threw the final 4.2 innings and moved to 6-0 on the season after yielding three runs on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

Singleton got out of a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the bottom of the second before St. Olaf put three runs on the board in the top of the third to open the scoring. After singles by Nevin and fifth-year senior Shreya Ashok put two runners on with one out, Zak singled in a run, Christenson followed with a run-scoring double, and Hokanson drove in a run with a ground out.

St. Kate's answered with two runs in the bottom of the third to make it a one-run game before Zak scored all the way from first on a single by Christenson in the top of the fifth. The Wildcats turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead in the fifth by stringing together four consecutive hits.

Eight of the first nine Oles to come to the plate reached safely in St. Olaf's five-run top of the sixth. With runners on second and third and one out, Zak singled in Brandt to tie the game and, after a walk reloaded the bases, Hokanson singled off the glove of a diving infielder to bring home the eventual game-winning run. Ring drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning and Singleton finished off the frame with a two-run single up the middle with two outs.

St. Olaf added two runs to its cushion in the top of the seventh, taking advantage of a wild pitch on a strikeout, a sacrifice bunt, and an error to get the first run. Christenson roped her fifth double of the day to score Zak for the final run of the game and Ring took care of the rest. Ring retired seven of the final eight batters she faced.