Game One: UW-Stout 5, St. Benedict 2
UW-Stout rallied from an early deficit to claim a 5-2 victory in the first game, earning their second win of the season.
The Bennies jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first on a groundout that scored a runner from third. Stout's offense was limited early but broke out in the top of the fourth. Sarah Wilkins singled through the left side, Abbey Dusterhoft reached on a fielder's choice, Katie Monroe singled to right field, and Elly Holden crushed a three-run home run to left, scoring Dusterhoft and Monroe for a 3-1 lead.
The Blue Devils added to the advantage in the top of the fifth. Rayni Bresnahan was hit by a pitch, Donna D'Addabbo reached on a fielder's choice, Stephanie Kuhn singled to left-center, and Sarah Wilkins singled to right-center for an RBI, driving in D'Addabbo to make it 4-1.
In the sixth, Katie Monroe doubled to left field, Adi Singer walked, Payton Dolecki bunted for a single to load the bases, and Rayni Bresnahan's sacrifice fly to center scored Monroe for a 5-1 cushion.
St. Benedict scored once in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, but Stout retired the side in order in the seventh to seal the win.
The Blue Devils tallied 10 hits, with Elly Holden going 2-for-3 including the three-run homer and three RBIs, Katie Monroe adding a double and two runs scored, and multi-hit games from Payton Dolecki and Sarah Wilkins. Olivia Ott earned the win (1-0) in the circle with 3.2 innings of one-run ball, while Sarah Wilkins closed it out over the final 3.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on no hits with three strikeouts.
Game Two: St. Benedict 4, UW-Stout 3
St. Benedict earned a walk-off 4-3 victory in the second game to split the doubleheader and improve to 1-1.
UW-Stout struck first in the top of the first. Payton Dolecki singled, stole second, advanced to third on Rayni Bresnahan's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Stephanie Kuhn's RBI single to left for a 1-0 lead. The Bennies answered right back in the bottom half with a two-RBI double to center that plated two runners, taking a 2-1 edge.
After a scoreless middle stretch, St. Benedict pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single following a leadoff bunt single and stolen base, extending the lead to 3-1.
The Blue Devils battled back to tie it in the top of the sixth. Rayni Bresnahan was hit by a pitch, Donna D'Addabbo singled to right, Emma Fortier pinch-ran, Stephanie Kuhn reached on a fielder's choice, Katie Monroe walked to load the bases, and Elly Holden delivered a two-RBI single to second base, scoring Kuhn and Fortier to knot the score at 3-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bennies loaded the bases with no outs on a bunt single, a walk, and stolen bases. After a strikeout, a bunt single through the left side scored the winning run from third to end the game, 4-3.
Stout finished with seven hits, highlighted by Adi Singer's 2-for-3 performance and Elly Holden's two-RBI single. Olivia Ott took the loss (1-1) after starting with two innings, and Sarah Wilkins worked 4.1 innings in relief. The Bennies' starter went the full seven innings for the complete-game win, scattering three runs on seven hits with four walks and one strikeout.
