Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 It came in about as dramatic a fashion as possible. Hamline's softball team survived a late St. Benedict rally for a 6-5, nine-inning victory that stretched their winning streak to a school record 11 games in a row. The Pipers, who won the opener of the twinbill 6-4, improved to 15-1 in the MIAC and remain two games ahead of Bethel in the battle fo first place in the MIAC. HU has also won 17 of its last 18 games and now stands 22-6 overall. 

Jamie Rubbelke rapped out five hits and scored four times, including the winning run in that wild second game. Amanda Orrell had three hits, scored three times and knocked in three as well to pace the HU offense

Sarah DeMars (10-3) pitched a complete game to earn the win in the opener and worked the final inning to gain the win in the second game. 

In the first game, Chelsea Koehn drove in a pair of runs with a two RBI single int he third inning that gave Hamline a 3-1 lead. Orrell's two RBI triple in the fifth was the big blow in a three-run inning that stretched the lead to 6-1. The Blazers responded quickly with three in the sixth inning but that was all DeMars would allow. The sophomore retired the last four batters in a row to complete a performance that saw her walk just one batter and strike out three.

The second game saw CSB nick HU starter Casey Amderson for a first inning run and an early lead. Anderson took matters into her own hands with a  ringing double that scored two runs and put HU ahead. Some alert base running keyed a three-run third inning outburst. HU was leading 3-1 with two out and runners on second and third. Jenna Dushaw hit a grounder that got away from the CSB shortstop for an error. Mary-Clare Couillard scored easily from third and Anderson, running hard from second, scored as well to make it 5-1.

The Blazers, however, refused to go quietly. They scored twice in the sixth and seventh innings to force extra frames. The Pipers nearly won it in the eighth. With Alli Ruter on first base and two out, Sammi Mau launched a drive to deep left center that was flagged down by CSB center fielder Megan Toninato at the fence. With one out in the next inning, Rubbelke doubled to left center. Couillard then slapped a single off the third baseman's glove to send her teammate to third. Orrell followed with a grounder to second. Rubbelke broke immediately and beat the throw to the plate (pictured) with the deciding run. 

Thus, the Pipers inched closer to their first softball championship ever. But they are not out of the woods yet. HU plays at St. Mary's (13-15, 7-9 MIAC) Saturday in a pair that commences at 1:00 p.m. They host Bethel next Wednesday at Meredith Field in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader. The final conference games are Saturday, April 25 at third place Gustavus Adolphus (20-12, 10-4).