DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica softball team wraps up Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action on Saturday when it faces Crown College in a doubleheader. CSS will then hope to close the regular season at home on Sunday against the College of Saint Benedict
Where:
Saturday
Crown Softball Field – St. Bonifacius, Minn.
Sunday
Kenwood Field – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at Crown – 1 p.m. (DH)
Sunday vs. Saint Benedict – 1 p.m. (DH)
Live Video vs. Crown: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crown/
Live Video/Stats vs. Saint Benedict: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/csssoftball
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/St-Scholastica-Softball-Fan-Page-257498654307193/
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 20-14, 13-1 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints swept Northland College on Tuesday in chilly conditions at Kenwood Field … CSS won the first contest 8-0 in six innings and then scored at least three runs in every inning to take game two 18-5 …
Hannah Borgeson (Woodville, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville HS) had four RBIs and
Alexa Bremer (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) had three hits and three runs scored in game one …
Maggie Schley (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored in game two … The two wins extended CSS' conference regular season home win streak to 40 games.
UMAC No. 1 Seed on the Line: St. Scholastica has already clinched a share of its ninth consecutive UMAC regular season championship … However, the No. 1 seed is still up for grabs … CSS holds a two-game lead over Crown and the University of Northwestern (Minn.) … However, Northwestern can only be the No. 3 seed based on tiebreaker scenarios … Thus if Crown sweeps the Saints Saturday, they will be the No. 1 seed … Another benefit of being the No. 1 seed is that team hosts next week's UMAC Tournament.
Bremer Goes Yard: Junior
Alexa Bremer (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) hit her first collegiate outdoor home run to lead off game two against Northland on Tuesday … Her only other college home run game came in her first collegiate game down at the Rochester Dome Tournament against Luther College (Iowa) in 2015.
Who Scores First: St. Scholastica is 12-0 this season when it scores in the first inning … The Saints are 16-2 when they score first period, but are 4-12 when the opponent notches the first run.
Big Innings: The Saints have outscored their opponents in the third inning this season 46-14 … They have also have shown the fight to rally, outscoring teams 16-3 in the seventh inning.
Streaks/Trends: Chrisi Mizera (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East HS) and Schley enter this weekend on eight-game hitting streaks … The Saints are winless this season when they don't out-hit their opponents (0-10).
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica - 64 points (8 First Place Votes)
2. Wisconsin-Superior - 56 (1)
3. Northwestern - 51
4. Crown - 38
5. Minnesota Morris - 37
6. Bethany Lutheran- 29
7. Martin Luther - 21
8. Northland - 20
9. North Central - 8
Upcoming Opponents
Crown Storm
Record: 13-21, 11-3 UMAC
The Storm are coming off a doubleheader split at Martin Luther College on Monday … All three conference losses this season have come by one run with the other two coming against the University of Wisconsin-Superior and Bethany Lutheran College … Nine of Crown's losses have come by two runs or less, including the last four defeats by one run … The Storm are led by Lis King, who leads the conference in slugging percentage (.866), home runs (13), RBIs (33) and walks (18) … In the pitching circle, King leads the UMAC in innings pitched (155.1), tied for the league lead in wins (12) and is third in earned run average (2.21) … Another key cog is Janelle Williams who leads the conference with 14 stolen bases and 27 runs scored … Crown will be either the No. 1, 2 or 3 seed for next week's UMAC Tournament.
Saint Benedict Blazers
Record: 26-10, 15-5 UMAC
The Blazers are scheduled to wrap up Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) action against St. Catherine University on Saturday before facing the Saints Sunday … St. Ben's is coming off being swept by the University of St. Thomas on Sunday … The Blazers are currently third in the MIAC standings, a game behind first place St. Thomas … St. Ben's is one of the top offensive teams in the MIAC … Kate Deming set the table for the Blazer offense with a .413 batting average and is second in the MIAC with 29 stolen bases … Emilie Antony leads the team with 13 doubles and 38 RBIs, which also ranks second in the MIAC … Sara Wnnerstrand is second in the MIAC with 51 hits and has 37 RBIs … In the pitching circle, junior Kiela DeVlaeminck leads the team with nine wins, 65 strikeouts and a 2.43 earned run average.
Series Records:
-CSS leads Crown 39-0
(Last Meeting: 10-5 CSS – 4/30/2016)
-St. Ben's leads CSS 3-2
(Last Meeting: 5-4 CSB – 4/3/2016)
Series Histories: The Saints swept Crown in the regular season finale last year at Kenwood Field … The game one 3-0 victory over the Storm was the closest margin of victory in series history … CSS has shutout Crown four of the last six meetings /// St. Scholastica played Saint Benedict last season for the first time since the 1988 season … The teams split the doubleheader in St. Joseph … This is scheduled the Blazers' first trip to Duluth.
Looking Ahead: The five-team UMAC Tournament begins next Thursday at either Kenwood Field or at Crown College.
