DECORAH, IOWA – Where there's a will, there's a way, and for the entire 2016 season, the St. Catherine University softball team has found a way. The Wildcats won their first game of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament 1-0 over Simpson College to advance to the winner's bracket of the Decorah Regional in Decorah, Iowa.

Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) played a big role in that "way" as she guided St. Kate's to their Game One both on the mound and at the plate. The sophomore pitched her eighth complete game shutout of the season and brought in St. Kate's lone run to help her team take game one 1-0 over Simpson.

"Our defense really settled down behind [Flugstad]," Wildcat Head Coach Colleen Powers said in a postgame press conference. "Once we got that first inning under our belt, we were able to settle down, score a run, and get the 'W'."

That first inning Powers referred to was the only time the Storm put together a real scoring threat. Simpson managed to load the bases with two outs, but Flugstad got out of the jam by getting the Storm's six-hole hitter to ground out to the pitcher.

"The support of my defense during that first inning meant everything to me," Flugstad said after the game. "It was really comfortable pitching to Sammie [Galvez], and I knew the defense had my back."

The Wildcats offense tried to back their pitcher by scoring early in the bottom of the first inning. Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn. / Anoka) hit a two-out single up the right side of the field but did not advance past first base, leaving the game in a 0- 0 tie after the first inning.

After that first inning, it was a pitcher's duel between Flugstad and Storm starter Riley Fisher. Fisher gave up only two Wildcat hits through the first five innings of play, one to Lindenfelser and the other to Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North), while Flugstad only gave up four Simpson hits during the entire game.

The Storm gave the Wildcats one more scare in the top of the sixth inning. Designated player Abbi VanVleet hit a deep fly ball to center field, but Lindenfelser was there to pull in the ball at the warning track.

The game was still scoreless when Rohr hit a leadoff single for St. Kate's in the bottom of the sixth. She was bunted over to second by Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) and made it to third on an infield single by Lindenfelser, leaving Wildcats on first and third with only one out.

Powers opted to have Megan Miller (Green Isle, Minn. / Norwood Young America) run at first for Lindenfelser with Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) at the plate. Sis drew a one out walk to load the bases and give the Wildcats their best scoring chance of the game.

Flugstad's bat gave St. Kate's the only run it would need to win the game. With one out and the bases loaded, the pitcher laid down a perfect bunt, and Rohr sprinted up the baseline to score the first run of the ball game on a suicide squeeze. That run proved to be all Flugstad needed. The sophomore got the first batter to groundout in the top of the seventh then struck out the next two Simpson batters to secure the Wildcats first round victory.

With the win, Flugstad became the first pitcher in St. Kate's history to win 18 games and pitch 8 complete game shutouts in the same season. She struck out nine Storm batters in the effort and gave up just four hits and two walks in seven innings of work.

The Wildcats improved to 32-9 on the season with the win over Simpson to advance to the winner's bracket of the Decorah Regional. They will face top-seeded Luther College, who beat UW-Superior 8-0 in the second game of the tournament, at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. The team will advance directly to the championship game with a win over the Norse, who they have already beaten once this year. If St. Kate's were to lose, it would play the winner of Simpson vs. UW-Superior Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.