The Gustavus softball team remained undefeated in conference play with a hard-fought sweep over Saint Mary’s by the scores of 4-3, 4-0 in St. Peter, Minn. on Sunday afternoon. Emily Wendorff was the hitting star for the Gusties as she went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader with two triples. Callie Nelsen was the winning pitcher in the first game and Erin Truebenbach earned the win on the mound in the second game. Gustavus improves to 27-3 overall and 16-0 in the MIAC.
In game one, Gustavus jumped out to a 4-0 lead scoring twice in the second inning and twice in the third inning. In the second, Kirsten Prunty stroked a two-out double that scored Andrea Brown, and then Dani Cattrysse ripped a double that scored Prunty. In the third, Emily Wendorff drove in Emily Klein and Jenny Ewert with a triple. The Gusties were cruising with a 4-0 lead until the Cardinals rallied to score three times in the top of the seventh, but Gustavus picked up the final out with the tying run on third base and escaped with the 4-3 victory. Callie Nelsen was credited with the win on the mound as she scattered three hits and walked one in five innings of work. Betsie Collins pitched the final two innings for the Gusties.
In game two, the Gusties scored single runs in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings to take a 4-0 lead, while Erin Truebenbach shut Saint Mary’s down allowing only one hit (a single with one out in the seventh inning) to claim complete game victory. Emily Wendorff and Jenna Johnson recorded to hits each to pace Gustavus. Emily Klein led off the fifth inning with her sixth home run of the season. to make the score 3-0. Kelly Myers executed a safety squeeze in the sixth inning which scored Amy Lynch from the third base for the Gusties final run. Truebenbach nearly registered her third no-hitter of the season, however Danielle Geske stroked a single to left field with one out in the seventh inning to break up the no-hitter. Truebenbach is now 10-1 on the season with four shutouts.
Gustavus extended its winning streak to 18 games, which the second longest streak in the program’s history behind the 22-game streak in the 1990 season.
The Gusties will now prepare to face St. Thomas in an important MIAC match-up in St. Peter on Tuesday afternoon. The Gusties are currently in first place in the MIAC with a mark of 16-0, while the Tommies are one game back at 15-1. St. Thomas, which is 31-3 overall is currently ranked #6 in the most recent NFCA Division III poll.