DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica Softball team hosted their home opener Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheader against the Auggies of Augsburg University at Kenny Harkins Field.
Game One, CSS 2, AUG 4
Game one opened similarly to the Saints' last doubleheader, against Saint Mary's, with the Saints scoring two quick runs in the first inning. Emam Bolin would bat first for the Saints, she was walked, getting first with ease.
Kari Breuer (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) would fly the ball out to right field, allowing Bolin to steal second. Following that, Grace Hadlich (Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) went up to bat, and much like Bolin, she was walked. Hadlich was then able to advance to second bringing Bolin to third. The first run was scored by Lauren Laviano (Maplewood, Minn./Mahtomedi HS), shooting the ball far to right field, allowing Bolin to get home and record the Saints first run of the day.
After that run scored, Aislind Dail (Sumner, Wash./Sumner HS) hit a single to center field, allowing Hadlich to record the Saints' second, and final run of the day.
The next scoring would happen in the third inning, where the Auggies were able to tie the game at 2-2. Ashley Matejka (Oak Forest, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS (Wartburg College)) and the Saints would put in maximum effort to avoid losing game one and giving the Auggies the momentum in game two, however, the Auggies were able to score two more times in the fifth inning. Game one would end with a final score of 4-2 in favor of the Auggies.
Game Two, CSS 0, AUG 2
Game two was much more of a battle of wits for both teams, we would see much less scoring on both sides of the game.
The Auggies would score for the first time in the second inning, breaking the 0-0 tie. The Saints would do a good job making it off home plate, but the Auggies defense was too much for the Saints offense to beat. The Auggies would score once more from a home run to right field, extending their lead to two runs.
The Saints would get a runner of first and third at the bottom of the sixth, in an effort to take the lead late in the game, but with one out already on the board, they only had one more out to try and score. Haley Rosenthal (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) hit a ground ball to first, allowing Augsburg to tag out the runner on first out, after that they would quickly tag our runner on third, who would try to score, ultimately ending the inning.
The seventh inning was largely uneventful, neither team would score, but with it only being a two-run game, neither team sat back and took it easy. Augsburg would only successfully get one runner off base due to the Saints' excellent defense. The Saints wouldn't be able to pull off a comeback as the Auggies retired the first three St. Scholastica batters.
What's Next
The Saints (3-17, 0-6 MIAC) will travel to Northfield to play the Oles (11-11, 2-4 MIAC) of Saint Olaf College, in a MIAC doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for April 13th at 1 p.m. and the second game is scheduled for 3 p.m.
