Bennie softball looks to finish MIAC season strong

The CSB softball team is ranked No. 1 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) this season, starting off with a 14-2 winning record for conference play.

The Bennies started the season with a successful home-opening series against St. Olaf, hitting .418 as a team with a 3.21 earned run average.

The sweep against St. Olaf was a special moment for the team, according to sophomore Ellie Peterson.

“It felt like we finally got momentum on our side, and we played in the way that we knew that we could, which was exactly how we wanted to start in our MIAC games,” Peterson said via email.

Days later, they extended their conference winning streak to 4-0 with two shutout wins against Augsburg.

Both victories were the result of a 9-0 rule-run, and CSB only allowed four total hits while achieving 28 hits themselves.

The Bennies had an undefeated week, aided by sophomore Olivia Tautges’s .600 batting average with 12 hits in 20 at bats, including three home runs and 12 RBI.

Her performance earned her the MIAC Softball Offensive Player of the Week and the St. Cloud Orthopedics athlete of the week award.

Tautges was also named the NCAA DIII Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Softball Association (NFCA) player of the week for the first time.

Through 34 conference and non-conference games, Tautges pushed her batting average to .406 and slugging percentage to .842 while leading the MIAC in home runs with 12.

Tautges attributes her success to the energy she brings to games and practices.

“I make sure to put the ball in play and usually hit it hard, which can advance runners or make teams make mistakes. I also have an aggressive hitting mindset, which gets us scoring early,” she said.

The winning streak continued as CSB softball faced Concordia, delivering a strong performance in both pitching and hitting.

The pitching rotation, led by Peterson and sophomore Olivia Wallace, stifled Concordia’s offense, allowing just one run over the double header while striking out 15 batters.

Seniors Tori Benson, Tautges and junior Megan Erickson each hit two home runs.

According to Peterson, the team is having a lot of fun this season and becoming very close.

“We took the pressure off ourselves to be perfect and knew that everybody had each other’s backs. All of these things have made it so that we are able to trust each other and have success,” she said.

Despite their momentum thus far, St. Catherine delivered the Bennies their first loss of conference play in a split doubleheader.

Undeterred by the loss of the first game in the series against St. Catherine, the Bennies secured its 10th conference win in the second game with a 9-0 rule-run victory.

Tautges and Benson collectively contributed three hits and six RBIs in the series, while sophomore Cat Smetana, Erickson and Benson secured the win in the second game with a three-run triple.

The next day, CSB softball added to their conference play record with two wins against Macalester, scoring 33 runs over the doubleheader to move into first place in the MIAC.

Tautges recorded five hits, including her ninth home run of the season, while driving in three runs to lead her team to victory.

With her ninth home run, she tied the school record for most home runs in a season, set by Lexi Alm in 2014.

Her performance earned her MIAC Softball Player of the Week for the second consecutive time.

This week, Tautges extended her hitting streak to 17 games while achieving a batting average of .549 with 24 RBI in 51 at bats.

She has a team-high 28 hits with six doubles in conference play.

Tautges is the third CSB player to earn two or more MIAC player of the week honors and the second CSB player to get the honor twice in the same season.

“I feel honored and thankful knowing other people are choosing me for these amazing awards,” she said.

The following week, the Bennies rallied for a 6-5 win over St. Mary’s in the first game but lost the second game 6-4 to split the doubleheader.

With a 14-2 conference run under their belts, CSB softball prepared to host St. Scholastica on Saturday.

The Bennies sit at No. 1 in the MIAC going into the game and are looking to continue their hot streak.

“Our MIAC season has gone very well so far. Up and down the lineup, everyone is contributing with good at bats. To continue this streak, I think we need to continue to work together, communicate and keep having good at bats,” senior Bryn Carlstrom said.