Notables
-First win over a nationally-ranked opponent since March 2014.
-Fourre hit a grand slam and finished with six RBIs in game two
-CSS had nine stolen bases in game two, most since 2008
ST. PAUL (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica softball team was back at the University of Northwestern (Minn.) for a doubleheader against 17
th-ranked St. Olaf College Saturday night. The Saints dropped game one 6-1, but came away with a 10-7 triumph in game two.
#17 St. Olaf 6, CSS 1
The first three CSS batters reached base on two hits, but the Saints managed only one more hit the rest of the way as the Oles (2-2) took the opener 6-1.
Kari Breuer (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) walked to open the game. That was followed by back-to-back singles by
Nicole Anders (Port Angeles, Wash./Sequim HS) and
Olivia Howe (Scandia, Minn./Forest Lake HS) with Howe's hit driving in Breuer to make it 1-0 Saints. After that, the next nine CSS outs were all by strikeout.
St. Olaf took the lead with a two-run single in the bottom of the first to make it 2-1. That score held until the bottom of the fifth when the Oles took advantage of a CSS error to plate four unearned runs and make it 6-1. The Saints went down in order in the sixth and seventh as St. Olaf took the opener 6-1.
Haley Rosenthal (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) allowed just two earned runs in the defeat.
CSS 10, #17 St. Olaf 7
St. Scholastica got the offense going in the nightcap. The Saints capitalized on five unearned runs in the first and jumped out to an 8-1 lead after two innings before having to hang on for the 10-7 victory.
After the Oles plated a run in the top of the first,
Mara Seurer (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) scored on a two-out error in the bottom frame to tie the game at 1-1. After a walk and hit-by-pitch,
Josie Fourre (Albany, Minn./Albany HS) hit a grand slam home run to make it 5-1 Saints.
Another St. Olaf error in the second led to three more CSS unearned runs. Breuer scored one run on a Seurer squeeze. Fourre then singled in two to make it 8-1.
The Oles quickly got back into the game by pushing six runs across on six hits in the third to cut the CSS lead to 8-7. The Saints extended the margin back to three in the fourth inning. RBIs by
Alex Wurzer (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) and Anders made it a 10-7 game.
Neither team had a runner reach third base the rest of the way as the Saints prevailed 10-7.
Howe struck out six in the pitcher's circle to improve to 7-1 on the season. Fourre had six of the team's nine RBIs and was the only Saint to record multiple hits.
St. Scholastica had nine stolen bases, which is the most in a single game since April 2008.
Up Next
The Saints (13-3) will hope to have their home opener next Saturday at Kenwood Field for a doubleheader against Augsburg University. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.