MANKATO, Minn. — The St. Catherine University softball team opened the 2026 season in Mankato with a pair of non-conference games. St. Kate’s went 1-1 overall falling to Central College 5-3 in game one before claiming an 8-7 win over Nebraska Wesleyan University in 8 innings.
GAME ONE | Central 5, St. Catherine 3
St. Catherine grabbed an early 2–0 lead when Lexi Drasher delivered a two-run double in the fifth, giving the Wildcats early momentum. Central answered in the bottom of the inning with a four-run surge.
St. Catherine trimmed the deficit to 5–3 with a sixth-inning RBI, but Central’s pitching staff held firm the rest of the way.
GAME TWO | St. Catherine 8, Nebraska Wesleyan 7 (8 innings)
The Wildcats struck first in the top of the first inning when Helen McKinnon scored on a Drasher RBI double. Nebraska Wesleyan responded in the third with a three-run frame to take a 3–1 advantage.
St. Catherine answered in the fifth with a three-run rally capped by RBI singles, and added two more in the sixth behind an RBI passed ball and run-scoring groundouts to make it 6–2. The Prairie Wolves battled back in the seventh with a three-run rally of their own to narrow the gap to 6–5.
In the eighth inning, Grace Swigart sparked the Wildcats’ offense with a triple that brought home two runs, and St. Catherine added another RBI on a sac bunt to extend the lead to 8–5. Nebraska Wesleyan added one in the bottom of the eighth, but St. Catherine held on for the one-run victory.
McKinnon was 3 for 7 with two runs and two RBI. Larson recorded three doubles in game two going 4 for 8 with one run and Drasher was 2 for 7 with a team high three RBI.
Taylor Graf appeared in both games allowing nine hits, seven earned runs and walked four. Sarah Christy started game two giving up four hits and three runs.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday, Feb 21 facing Northwestern-St. Paul and Minnesota Morris in Mankato.
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