NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Fifth-year senior Shreya Ashok delivered the tie-breaking, go-ahead single in the bottom of the sixth for the third-seeded St. Olaf College softball team in a 6-5 victory over sixth-seeded St. Catherine University in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Softball Playoffs on Thursday afternoon at Mabel Shirley Field.

After St. Kate's (18-23) scored four unanswered runs to take a 5-4 lead, St. Olaf (24-15) plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead, with Ashok breaking the 5-5 tie with a two-out, bases-loaded single. Junior Madyn Singleton retired all four batters she faced in relief of classmate Roxanne Ring to help the Oles oust the Wildcats from the tournament.

With the win, St. Olaf will take on the second-seeded College of Saint Benedict in the semifinals on Saturday, May 10 at 1:30 p.m. at Saint Mary's University in Winona. The host and top-seeded Cardinals will face fourth-seeded Macalester College in the first semifinal of the day at 11 a.m. after the Scots eased to a 10-2 win over fifth-seeded Bethel University in the other quarterfinal.

Seven hitters accounted for St. Olaf's eight hits in the victory, with senior Amelia Christenson being the lone Ole with multiple hits by going 2-for-3 with two RBI. Junior Elle Brandt added a two-run home run, while Ashok got on base twice with a walk and the go-ahead single.

Ring left with a no-decision after allowing five runs on 10 hits with no walks and five strikeouts over the first 5.2 innings. Singleton got the Oles out of the sixth inning before tossing a 1-2-3 seventh to level her record at 4-4 on the season.

St. Kate's opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first on a two-out double by Grace Swigart, but St. Olaf scored the next four runs to build a 4-1 lead. Brandt put the Oles on top with a two-out, two-run home run – her team-leading sixth of the single – to right center in the second after Ring got on with a single earlier in the frame.

St. Olaf put together its second consecutive two-run inning in the third, culminating in a two-out, two-run single by Christenson. Ashok started the inning by drawing a walk before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Regan Zak. Senior Medora Rylee singled and stole second to put two runners in scoring position. After an out at the plate on a fielder's choice, Christenson dropped a single into shallow right-center field to score a pair.

The Wildcats quickly responded with three runs on five hits in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 4-4. St. Kate's went on to take a 5-4 lead on a two-out solo home run to left by Alexa Carlstrom in the top of the sixth, but St. Olaf answered in the bottom of the inning.

Sophomore Eva Hokanson and Christenson started the home half of the sixth with back-to-back singles to help St. Olaf fill the bases with one out. After a fielder's choice led to an out at home plate, sophomore Rylan Nakamura coaxed a five-pitch walk to bring in the game-tying run and, three pitches later, Ashok bounced a single up the middle to score junior Belle Schmidt for the eventual game-winning run. Singleton needed just seven pitches to set the Wildcats down in order in the top of the seventh.