BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - League play is right around the corner for Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) softball teams. The conference season is set to begin this weekend with doubleheaders tentatively set for both Saturday and Sunday. However, early-season Minnesota weather is likely to impact start times and venues. Fans should keep an eye on the MIAC scoreboard for time and location changes as the weekend approaches.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Augsburg sophomore P Libby Moore (Springville, Iowa) has three saves on the year, tied for the most in NCAA Division III.
Bethel senior P Kayla Simacek (Hastings, Minn.) leads NCAA Division III with 140 strikeouts this season. She is also second in complete games (9) and wins (9), third in games started (14), and fourth in strikeouts per seven innings (11.1). Simacek struck out 16 against Loras on 3/17, tied for the second-most in any D-III game this season.
Bethel sophomore 1B Mikaela Girard (Northfield, Minn.) had five hits against Washington College on 3/13, tied for the most in any D-III game this season.
Bethel senior 2B Izzy Wilhelm (Little Canada, Minn. | Roseville Area) walked four times against Washington on 3/13, tied for the most in any D-III game this season. She also hit three doubles against Washington, which ties for the most doubles in any D-III game this season as well.
Bethel senior OF Lexi DeBace (Little Canada, Minn. | Roseville Area) scored five runs against Dubuque on 2/18, tied for the most in any NCAA Division III game this season.
Bethel graduate OF Allie Fauth-Kilgore (Hutchinson, Minn.) has stolen 17 bases this spring, tied for the ninth-most in NCAA Division III.
Carleton senior 2B Cassie Cunniff (Mt. Prospect, Ill. | Prospect) ranks fourth in NCAA Division III in triples (4) this season, fifth in total bases (59) and runs per game (1.69), sixth in slugging percentage (1.035), seventh in hits (34), and eighth in batting average (.596). Cunniff hit three doubles against Crown on 2/25, tied for the most in any D-III game this season. She had 10 total bases against Oswego State on 3/17, tied for the ninth-most in any D-III game this year. Her two home runs in the game are tied for the fifth-most in any D-III game this season, while her two triples against Bethany Lutheran on 2/18 remain tied for the most in any D-III game this year.
Gustavus junior P Piper Otto (Brooklyn Park, Minn. | Champlin Park) tossed a no-hitter against North Central on 3/4. It is one of 40 no-hitters in NCAA Division III softball this season.
Hamline first-year 3B Josephine Cariveau (Phoenix, Ariz. | Arcadia) scored four runs against Farmingdale State on 3/16, tied for the most runs scored in any D-III game this season.
Macalester first-year P Maddie Molay (Northbrook, Ill. | Glenbrook North) has three saves this season, tied for the most in NCAA Division III.
Saint Benedict senior P Elly Novak (Montgomery, Minn. | Tri-City United) is tied for fifth in Division III with three shutouts this season.
Saint Benedict senior OF Gabby Spencer (St. Paul, Minn. | Roseville Area) is averaging 1.10 walks per game, tied for the third-highest average in D-III. Spencer walked four times against Husson on 3/6, tied for the most in any Division III game this season.
St. Olaf junior 3B Anne Fossum (Northfield, Minn.) has four sacrifice flies this season, fourth-most in NCAA Division III.
St. Scholastica senior P Haley Rosenthal (Mahtomedi, Minn.) pitched 10.0 innings against UW-Stout on 2/26, tied for the seventh-most innings pitched in any D-III game this season.
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg sophomore P Brynn Hostettler (Northfield, Minn.) struck out eleven and walked seven in five innings of work to improve to 4-0 on the season in a 9-1 win over Northland on 3/22. The Auggies held Northland without a hit in the first six innings of the game and with a doubleheader sweep improved to 12-4 for the program’s best start to a season since 1984.
Bethel senior P Kayla Simacek (Hastings, Minn.) went 7-1 in the circle for the Royals during their trip to Florida with a combined 87 strikeouts, two walks, and five earned runs allowed in 52.1 innings of work. Teams hit .128 against Simacek while she averaged 11.6 Ks, throwing five complete game efforts and two shutouts. Her shutout wins came against Southern Maine (3/14) and Meredith (3/16) against whom she threw a combined 24 strikeouts. In a pitcher's duel loss to Loras on 3/17, Simacek struck out a season-high 16 batters while giving up one run on three hits.
Carleton sophomore SS Bryanna Schaffer (San Diego, Calif. | Mar Vista) went 5-for-6 in the Knights’ games against Washington & Jefferson and Elmhurst on 3/24. Schaffer had a double and an RBI with two stolen bases while going 3-for-3 against Washington & Jefferson.
Concordia senior OF Molly Wilde (St. Michael, Minn. | St. Michael-Albertville) has tallied at least one hit in every game played this season, including going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in a win over Mount Mary on 3/9.
Gustavus first-year INF Caitlin Olafsson (Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge) led the Gusties at the plate during their trip to Florida last week, going 10-for-24 with seven RBI and six runs scored in eight games. Olafsson hit her first collegiate home run in the team's loss to Hope on 2/24 and had a pair of three-hit games against Washington & Jefferson (3/24) and Westminster (3/25).
Hamline sophomore SS Jenna Rubbelke (North St. Paul, Minn.) finished the Pipers’ trip to Florida with a .379 batting average, going 11-of-29 at the plate with eight runs scored. Rubbelke recorded a hit in eight of her nine games played and drew five walks as well.
Macalester sophomore Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md. | Huntingtown) went 4-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored in the Scots' spring break finale against Lawrence and Fredonia on 3/17. In the Scots' 12-1 win over Lawrence, Futchko was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Saint Benedict senior P Elly Novak (Montgomery, Minn. | Tri-City United) posted a 5-1 record and added a save in her seven appearances in the circle for the Bennies during their spring break trip to Florida. Novak posted an earned run average of 1.22 and a WHIP of .79. She allowed 22 total hits and six earned runs with 42 strikeouts and five walks across 34.1 innings of work.
St. Catherine junior 1B Kaitlín Boyles (Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge) batted .300 with six hits and five RBI in seven starts last week for the Wildcats. Boyles went 3-for-4 against Bowdoin on 3/21 and finished the week on an RBI streak of three consecutive games.
Saint Mary's first-year C Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) went 2-for-3 in both games of the Cardinals’ nonconference doubleheader against UW-La Crosses on 3/26. Berg also drove in a pair of runs in the 9-6, Game 2 loss.
St. Olaf first-year P Madyn Singleton (Cedar Park, Texas) went 1-1 with a 1.31 ERA in four appearances for the Oles last week in Florida. Singleton earned the first victory of her collegiate career with 3.2 innings of shutout relief in a 5-3 win over Grinnell on 3/23 before allowing just one earned run in six innings against UW-Stevens Point the next day. She closed out the week by limiting UW-Whitewater to two runs over six innings in a no-decision on 3/25.
St. Scholastica sophomore C Samantha Paniagua (Corona, Calif. | Centennial) hit .400 (12-for-30) with seven runs batted in and ten RBI in a ten-game span for the Saints during their trip to Florida. Paniagua tallied four multi-hit games and belted home runs against Washington College (3/12) and Lake Forest College (3/17).
UP NEXT
Wednesday, March 29
1:00 PM | UM-Morris vs. Concordia (Rosemount, Minn. // Irish Dome)
3:00 PM | UM-Morris vs. Concordia (Rosemount, Minn. // Irish Dome)
3:00 PM | St. Olaf at Emory (Atlanta, Ga. // Cooper Field)
Thursday, March 30
3:30 PM | Viterbo at Saint Mary’s (Winona, Minn. // Saint Mary’s Field)
4:00 PM | North Central at Augsburg (Minneapolis, Minn. // Auggie Dome)
5:30 PM | Viterbo at Saint Mary’s (Winona, Minn. // Saint Mary’s Field)
6:00 PM | North Central at Augsburg (Minneapolis, Minn. // Auggie Dome)
Saturday, April 1
1:00 PM | Augsburg at Gustavus (St. Peter, Minn. // Gustie Softball Field)*
1:00 PM | Carleton at Concordia (Moorhead, Minn. // Cobber Softball Diamond)*
1:00 PM | St. Catherine at Saint Mary’s (Winona, Minn. // Saint Mary’s Field)*
1:00 PM | St. Scholastica at Hamline (St. Paul, Minn. // Meredith Field)*
1:00 PM | Macalester at Bethel (Arden Hills, Minn. // Ona Orth Complex)*
1:00 PM | St. Olaf at Saint Benedict (St. Joseph, Minn. // CSB Softball Field)*
3:00 PM | Augsburg at Gustavus (St. Peter, Minn. // Gustie Softball Field)*
3:00 PM | Carleton at Concordia (Moorhead, Minn. // Cobber Softball Diamond)*
3:00 PM | St. Catherine at Saint Mary’s (Winona, Minn. // Saint Mary’s Field)*
3:00 PM | St. Scholastica at Hamline (St. Paul, Minn. // Meredith Field)*
3:00 PM | Macalester at Bethel (Arden Hills, Minn. // Ona Orth Complex)*
3:00 PM | St. Olaf at Saint Benedict (St. Joseph, Minn. // CSB Softball Field)*
Sunday, April 2
1:00 PM | St. Catherine at Augsburg (Minneapolis, Minn. // Auggie Dome)*
1:00 PM | Carleton at Gustavus (St. Peter, Minn. // Gustie Softball Field)*
1:00 PM | Bethel at Hamline (St. Paul, Minn. // Meredith Field)*
1:00 PM | Saint Benedict at St. Scholastica (Duluth, Minn. // Kenwood Field)*
1:00 PM | Saint Mary’s at Concordia (Moorhead, Minn. // Cobber Softball Diamond)*
1:00 PM | St. Olaf at Macalester (St. Paul, Minn. // Macalester Softball Complex)*
3:00 PM | St. Catherine at Augsburg (Minneapolis, Minn. // Auggie Dome)*
3:00 PM | Carleton at Gustavus (St. Peter, Minn. // Gustie Softball Field)*
3:00 PM | Bethel at Hamline (St. Paul, Minn. // Meredith Field)*
3:00 PM | Saint Benedict at St. Scholastica (Duluth, Minn. // Kenwood Field)*
3:00 PM | Saint Mary’s at Concordia (Moorhead, Minn. // Cobber Softball Diamond)*
3:00 PM | St. Olaf at Macalester (St. Paul, Minn. // Macalester Softball Complex)*
Tuesday, April 4
2:30 PM | Saint Mary’s at UW-River Falls (River Falls, Wis. // Perkins Stadium)
4:30 PM | Saint Mary’s at UW-River Falls (River Falls, Wis. // Perkins Stadium)
*MIAC game
LEAGUE LEADERS
| 2023 MIAC Statistical Leaders |
| Overall |
MIAC |
| Batting Average |
Cassie Cunniff, Carleton |
.596 |
-- |
-- |
| Runs Batted In |
Lauren Laviano, St. Scholastica |
18 |
-- |
-- |
| On-Base Percentage |
Hailey Pangracs, Concordia |
.625 |
-- |
-- |
| Hits |
Cassie Cunniff, Carleton |
34 |
-- |
-- |
| Earned Run Average |
Elly Novak, Saint Benedict |
1.22 |
-- |
-- |
| Strikeouts |
Kayla Simacek, Bethel |
140 |
-- |
-- |
| Wins |
Kayla Simacek, Bethel |
9 |
-- |
-- |