ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – With hopes of capturing a third straight conference tournament title, the No. 8 Saint Mary's softball team squared off against two of the MIAC's top programs during Championship Saturday at the MIAC Softball Playoffs, hosted by Saint Benedict.
The No. 2-seeded Cardinals opened the day in commanding fashion, rolling past No. 3 St. Olaf 7-1 in the semifinal round to advance to the conference championship game. Saint Mary's then battled top-seeded and host Saint Benedict in a tightly contested title matchup, but the Bennies ultimately denied the Cardinals the MIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.
Saint Mary's now sits at 36-6 overall and will await its postseason fate during the NCAA Division III Selection Show.
GAME ONE
SMU 7, STO 1
The Cardinals opened the day in dominant fashion, collecting 12 hits and striking out 12 Oles batters to punch their ticket into the conference title game.
Saint Mary's wasted no time getting on the board in the opening inning. In the leadoff spot, Alexandra Gerber had an in the park homerun to begin the game, due to an error by the Oles to get things going, before Megan McGinnis ran in on another error. Later in the opening frame, Peyton Berg added an RBI double to make it 3-0.
The Cardinals added two more runs in the second inning after the Oles could not seem to be on the same page. Brianna Nusbaum made her way home with her baserunning before McGinnis added to her stellar day with another RBI.
Saint Mary's continued to apply pressure in the fifth inning. Two doubles from Naleyah Bork and Abbie Stigler added to the lead making it 7-0 heading into the final two innings.
St. Olaf got on the board in the sixth inning with a solo homer from Hannah Yaeger, but the Cardinals shut down any rally.
McGinnis paced the offense going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs, while Gerber, Berg, Bork, all recorded multi-hit performances.
In the circle, Makayla Steffes was outstanding, tossing a complete-game four-hitter while striking out 12 batters, a season best, and allowing just one run.
GAME TWO
CSB 9, SMU 7
In the MIAC Championship game, the Cardinals battled back-and-forth with the Bennies in a high-scoring contest but were unable to overcome a big early inning from Saint Benedict.
In the second inning, Saint Mary's plated two runs with a fun two out rally. Back-to-back singles from Karli Zetah and Kenzie Gatz set the stage for a monster double from Stigler to take the 2-0 lead.Â
Saint Benedict responded immediately with a four-run second inning and added four more in the third and fourth to take control.
The Cardinals refused to go away quietly.
Saint Mary's plated three runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run blast from Nusbaum before adding two more in the sixth to cut the deficit to 9-7. The Cardinals brought the tying run to the plate late but could not complete the comeback.
The offense once again stayed productive, totaling 11 hits in the championship game. McGinnis finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.
It was Saint Benedict's first program championship.
Saint Mary's now turns its attention toward Monday's NCAA Division III Softball Selection Show.
The NCAA Division III Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, May 11 at 10:00 a.m. as the Cardinals hope to hear their name called for an at-large berth into the national tournament.
