Notables
- The Saints extend their winning streak to eight consecutive games
- Schley homered in each of the two games
- The title marks the 10th straight for the Saints and 19 in the last 20 years
- CSS will host the conference tournament from May 3rd through May 5th
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica softball team squared off against Crown College Sunday afternoon in doubleheader fashion to finish off their Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season games. With Crown entering the day at 9-3 in the conference, the Saints only needed to take one of the two games at Kenwood Field to be crowned champions. They took both games, however, with scores of 5-2 and 8-7 to clinch their 10th consecutive regular season title on Senior Day.
Game One: CSS 5, Crown 2
Vanessa Kohl (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) took to the mound in game one for the Saints, coming off a win the previous day against Bethany Lutheran College. Kohl picked up right where she left off, throwing four innings of scoreless softball before giving up a run in the fifth. It took some time for the Saints to bring their bats around as well, going three up, three down each of the first two innings.
The bottom of the third inning was much more kind to CSS, thanks in part to senior captain
Cindi Rydlund (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS). With two outs and the bases loaded the centerfielder singled to left field on a 2-2 count to bring in the first two runs of the game. The Saints wouldn't score any more in the half inning, which was followed by a scoreless fourth to bring the 2-0 score into the fifth inning. Crown loaded the bases with two outs, but only scored one run on a wild pitch to bring them within one at 2-1.
Once again, with two outs, Rydlund had an answer. After
Alexa Bremer (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) doubled down the left-field line Rydlund approached the plate hoping to add more RBIs to her resumé. She did just that, singling to left center to bring the score to 3-1.
Maggie Schley (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) followed up the Rydlund single with a monster home run over the scoreboard in right-center field to put the Saints up 5-1.
Crown squeaked another run in during the top of the sixth inning after Laryssa Vik doubled to right center, but that would be the last run Kohl would allow as the Saints shut the door and took the 5-2 victory. The last outs of the game were made by Rydlund as she caught a flyball in center and proceeded to throw out the runner tagging from third for a fancy double play ending. The win clinched the UMAC regular season title as well as home-field advantage throughout the conference tournament for the Saints.
Rydlund provided the Saints with three runs batted in as she went 2-for-4 on the game with a run scored herself. Kohl threw a complete game with only allowing five hits and two runs.
Game Two: CSS 8, Crown 7
After blasting a two-run homerun, Schley entered game two on the mound for the Saints in the hopes of replicating Kohl's work in the first game. The first inning resulted in three up, three down for the Crown batters to put Schley in a comfortable position. In the bottom half of the first Schley helped herself out with a single to left field that scored Rydlund from second base.
Once again Schley worked a perfect inning in the second, keeping the score at 1-0 entering the bottom half of the inning. All day the Saints had been thriving on two-out hitting scenarios, and they did that again thanks to
Hannah Thul (Superior, Wis./Superior HS). With the bases loaded Thul singled up the middle to score both
Killyn Kanters (Hayward, Wis./HACIL Charter School) and
Nicole Anders (Port Angeles, Wash./Sequim HS) and make the game 3-0.
After another scoreless inning of pitching from Schley she helped herself out again in the bottom of the third. With a full count and no one on base Schley took a fastball and sent it over the fence in straightaway center field for her second home run on the day to boost the lead to 4-0 CSS. Later in the inning, to no one's surprise with two outs, Bremer doubled to right center with the bases loaded to add two more runs on the scoreboard and make the game 6-0.
Both teams would be held scoreless in the fourth, bringing Crown to bat in the top of the fifth.
Heidi Shelton (Duluth, Minn./Proctor HS (St. Cloud Tech and CC)) replaced Schley on the mound, recording two quick outs to get things going. However, Crown would record a hit, a walk, and reach by error to load the bases. Back to back singles by Marissa Carter and Cassidy Valenzuela put three runs on the board for the Storm to make the game interesting at 6-3 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. The Saints went down in order, leaving two innings of play for Crown to make their move.
They almost made it in the sixth, but a well turned double play by
Madison Harris (Billings, Mont./Billings West HS) and Bremer evaporated the Crown momentum and brought the game to the bottom of the sixth. Schley, who had re-entered the game as the pitcher in the sixth inning, singled to right field to record her third run-producing hit of the game as Rydlund crossed home plate to provide an insurance run at 7-3.
It turned out the Saints did indeed need that run, as Crown mounted a big comeback in the top of the seventh. The Storm managed to plate one run and put a runner on third with two outs having been recorded in the inning, making the score 7-4. They proceeded to hit four consecutive singles to move runners around the diamond and eventually tie the game at 7-7. Schley retired Crown's Demi Brezina before the away team could take the lead, giving the Saints a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the inning.
With one out,
Josie Fourre (Albany, Minn./Albany HS) singled to right field to put the game-winning run on first base.
Ellie Haney (Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake HS) pinch ran for the St. Scholastica first baseman, advancing to second on a Kanters single. With the Star Wars theme music blaring through the speakers, Anders approached the plate with a chance to walk it off. She did just that, hitting a single through the right side of the field and scoring Haney from second to capture the CSS win.
Schley led the Saints to victory in game two through pitching as well as hitting, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, a home run, and six innings pitched. Anders also chipped in with a 3-for-4 performance and the game-winning hit. Valenzuela led the Storm, batting 2-for-3 and recording three RBIs of her own.
The win puts the Saints at 20-11 (14-2 UMAC), while Crown drops to 16-16 (9-5 UMAC) with only a few games to go before the conference tournament starts.
Seniors Honored
The four seniors recognized on the day were
Alexa Bremer (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS),
Cindi Rydlund (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS),
Heidi Shelton (Duluth, Minn./Proctor HS (St. Cloud Tech and CC)), and
Vanessa Kohl (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS).
Up Next
The Saints will host the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament, beginning on Thursday at Kenwood Field.
