Truax and team tears down opponents

The St. Olaf softball team cleaned house May 2 and 3 with two consecutive sweeps in double headers against Augsburg College and Martin Luther respectively. Earlier in the week the Oles took on Bethel University and split the double header, so the win against Augsburg was critical. The victories pit the Oles against high-ranked St. Thomas in Mankato on May 7 for their first playoff game of the season.  

After an extended nine-inning first game against Bethel on May 1 that resulted in a  1-2 loss for St. Olaf, the team had to regroup in order to remain in playoff contention. They won the second game with a four-run lead which gave the team reason to fight in the Augsburg double header.

In the first game against Augsburg, pitcher Katie Truax '11 kept the score to 2-1 with an impressive no-hit contest.

The heat increased immediately in the second game as St. Olaf racked up the runs:  five in the first inning. The Oles fought for their win when Augsburg scored late in the sixth and seventh innings for a final score of 8-4.  

With a MIAC record of 14-8, the team will advance to play St. Thomas. Truax and team have been slogging away in preparation for the big playoff game.                            

"We are all very excited to play St. Thomas on Friday," Truax said. "I think if we keep up the good focus and communication, we will be able to string together some hits and have a solid defense. Once somebody gets a key hit or makes a great play in the field, we feed off the energy and come out really strong."

The Martin Luther double header on May 3, though a non-conference win, built momentum for the game against St. Thomas as the women handily defeated their opponents in both games.  

The first inning of game one began with excitement as Cara Lemmon '13 stole second base to have Melanie Brooks ‘11 bring her home for the first run. Martin Luther College volleyed right back with a run to tie the game, but St. Olaf eventually pulled ahead with a final score of 11-4.  

Only five innings were played in the second game as officials implemented the run ahead rule. The Oles dominated with a score of 13-0.  Additionally, 14 MIAC wins is the most that the softball team has achieved since 1997.

This will be the first postseason appearance for the team since the restructuring of the MIAC softball playoffs in 2000.