Notables
-Saints receive the conference's automatic qualifier into next week's NCAA Division III Tournament
-14th UMAC Tournament title overall and seventh in the last nine years
-Mizera recorded two home runs
-Second consecutive game to see a CSS player with two homers
-CSS improves to 16-0 all-time against Northwestern in the UMAC Tournament
-Saints outscored opponents 31-1 in three games of the tournament
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica softball team was crowned as the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament Champion on Saturday afternoon at Kenwood Field, when it took a 7-1 victory over the third-seeded University of Northwestern (Minn.).
The Action
The Saints, coming off a shut out versus Crown College yesterday, struck early against the Eagles, earning three runs in the first inning after working out of a bit of a bind in the top of the inning. The Eagles had runners on second and third with one out in the top of the inning, then a fouled pop up near the dugout was caught by Maggie Schley (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS), who then chased down the runner from third to put the tag on for the unassisted double play. At bat for the Saints, Olivia Bretting (Ashland, Wis. /Ashland HS ) singled to get on base, then was advanced to second when Chrisi Mizera (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East HS) took a walk. Schley drove one down the right field line for a triple, which scored both Bretting and Mizera to make the score 2-0. Toni Bishop (Roseville, Minn./Roseville HS) singled in her at bat, which allowed Schley to score from third, putting CSS up by three after the first.
The next scoring change came in the third inning on Mizera's first home run of the day, scoring her and Hannah Borgeson (Woodville, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville HS), who was on base thanks to a single she'd hit to right center. This made the score 5-0 in favor of the Saints.
The fourth inning saw one hit from each team, but no scoring changes. The Saints got two more runners across the plate in the fifth inning. Mizera stepped up to bat, and as a follow up to her previous homer, proved she had another one in the tank by launching one over the fence for her second of the game and fifth of the season. This added another run to the board for CSS, making the score 6-0. Schley then got on with a walk in her at bat, and was advanced to third on a double from Bishop. Marjaana Dailey (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) sent a ground ball to the second baseman and collected the RBI for the second run of the inning and the final Saints run of the game.
The Saints allowed one run to score in the sixth inning on two hits, a double followed by a single, from the Eagles, to give the game its final score of 7-1.
Mizera had a good day all around, pitching the seven full innings, earning seven strikeouts, and allowing just five hits. She went 2-for-2 at the plate, collecting three RBIs between the two home runs. Bishop went 2-for-3 and earned an RBI.
Up Next
As winners of the UMAC Tournament, the Saints (24-15) get the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. Those game pairings will be announced on Monday at noon on NCAA.com.
