The Gustavus softball team suffered a 10-2 loss to St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoff Championship on Saturday afternoon in St. Paul. The Tommies finished a perfect 25-0 within conference play on the year, earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Gusties earned a berth into the championship after defeating Saint Mary’s 11-5 earlier in the day. The Gustavus softball team finishes the 2011 season with an overall record of 27-14-1.
The Gusties recorded their third-highest hit total of the season with 14 knocks in the game one victory over Saint Mary’s. Lisa Klass and MacKenzie Dalton both recorded three hits in the game, as Klass went 3-for-3 with a home run, double, two runs and an RBI, and Dalton went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jen Ulmen continued to swing a hot, sending out two more home runs in the contest, bringing her playoff total to four over three games. Ulmen was 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI.
Gustavus scored the opening run of the game in the bottom of the first inning when Klass ripped the ball over the left field fence. The Gusties extended their lead to 5-1 after a four-run inning in the third. Dani Cattrysse hit a three-run home run in the inning. She finished the game 1-for-3 with three RBI and a run.
The Gusties would add three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, sealing the six-run victory. Erin Truebenbach earned the win, giving up five runs on 11 hits in a complete game performance. She improved to 10-5 on the year with the win.
St. Thomas hurler Biz Sitzmann got the best of Gustavus for the second time in the MIAC Playoffs later in the championship game. Sitzmann went all six innings and gave up two runs on five hits for the win. Kate Rentschler suffered the loss for Gustavus, giving up eight runs on 12 hits in three and a third innings. Rentschler finishes the season 17-8 on the rubber.
After Gustavus scored the opening run of the game in the top of the first inning, it was all St. Thomas from that point on. The Tommies scored five unanswered runs to Runs to take a 5-1 lead by the end of the third. The Gusties cut the lead to 5-2 with a run scored by Kirsten Prunty. Prunty would be the last Gustie to cross the plate, as St. Thomas scored three runs in the fourth and added two more to earn the eight-run rule in the sixth.
Gustavus’ Emily Wendorff led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3, while Klass, Brittany Brenke, and Prunty all had a hit. Sydney Marquardt led all hitters by going 4-for-4 with two RBI and a run, as the Tommies tallied 19 hits in the victory.