DECORAH, IOWA – If there's a prize for exceeding expectations, the St. Catherine University softball team would win it. The Wildcats exceeded all expectations except their own in 2016 by qualifying for both the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Softball Tournament for the first time in program history. St. Kate's continued to exceed expectations in the Decorah Regional, beating top-seeded Luther College to force a game seven to determine the champion. Sadly, the Wildcats phenomenal season came to an end Sunday afternoon, as they fell in the Regional Final 3-1 to the Norse.

After beating Simpson College 8-3 in the elimination game Saturday night, St. Kate's earned the right to face No. 5 Luther in the Regional Final. However, the Wildcats had to beat the ranked Norse twice in order to reach the Super Regionals. In the first game of the day, St. Kate's had a chance to strike first against reigning Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) pitcher-of-the-year Amanda Witzlib, and that is exactly what they did.

It all started when both Robyn Rohr (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North) and Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn. / Anoka) were walked to open the game to put runners on second and third with one out. Four-hole hitter Krista Flugstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) capitalized on the situation by hitting an RBI single to right field to score Rohr from third and move Lindenfelser. Ashley Sis (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) hit a hard ball that the third baseman bobbled to force Luther to make a change on the mound.

The Norse brought in lefty Annie Versnik, and St. Kate's just kept hitting. Claire Woebke collected on RBI single to the third baseman, and just like that, the Wildcats had a 2-0 lead over the No. 5 team in the country.

Lindenfelser took the mound for St. Kate's in the first game and was lights out. The sophomore gave up just one hit and walk in the first inning but pitched her way out of the jam with a strikeout to end the inning. In total, Lindenfelser would give up no runs on three hits to collect her twelfth win and seventh shutout of the 2016 season.

While Lindenfelser held the Norse bats at bay, the Wildcats continued to threaten on the offensive side of the ball. St. Kate's either recorded a hit or had a base runner in five of the seven innings and scored an insurance run in the top of the fourth inning. As the first batter of the inning, Anna Hinderaker (Rosemount, MInn. / Rosemount) reached base on an error by the first baseman, then was bunted over to second by Donielle Kurvers (Monticello, Minn. / Monticello). Kylie Macziewski (Bloomington, Minn. / Jefferson) brought her teammate around with a line drive single up the middle, giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

After that, Lindenfelser went to work on the mound and secured St. Kate's victory with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh. The 3-0 victory ensured that the Wildcats would end the season with at least a .500 record against ranked opponents and brought them one step closer to reaching the Super Regionals in their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Lindenfelser also got the call in Game 7 and was once again stellar on the mound. She sent the Norse down again in order to start the game, giving St. Kate's a chance to score first. The Wildcats looked like they had a legitimate chance with runners on first and second and two outs. Those runners were stranded and the game remained tied at 0-0 after the first inning.

Lindenfelser and Luther starter Samantha Bratland were in pitcher's dual through the first three innings. Unfortunately, Lindenfelser was the first to make a mistake. She left a pitch high in the zone and Luther hitter Ashley Burrows took it deep to left field to give Luther a 2-0 lead.

Head coach Colleen Powers swapped Lindenfelser for Flugstad in the fifth inning, when the Norse threatened to extend their lead with runners on first and second and no outs. Flugstad pitched her way out of the jam, thanks to outstanding defensive plays by Macziewski and Hinderaker, but not before Luther scored a run to take a 3-0 lead over St. Kate's.

The Wildcats threatened to cut into the Norse lead multiple times throughout the game with aggressive hitting. The team finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. After Lindenfelser was robbed of a home run at the fence, Flugstad hit a bloop single to center field to help jump start the St. Kate's offense. Miller went in at first to pinch run and scored three batters later on an RBI single from Woebke to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Wildcats then loaded the bases, but were sadly unable to score again.

St. Kate's had one more chance to rally as the home team in the bottom of the seventh inning. Leadoff hitter Rohr jump started the inning with a single to the right side and advanced to second on an infield single from Lindenfelser. However, the two Wildcats were stranded in place, as the team fell 3-1 in the final inning of the game.

Flugstad, Lindenfelser, and Rohr represented St. Kate's on the All-Tournament team thanks to their outstanding play throughout the Regional. Flugstad went 2-1 on the mound and was the only Wildcat to reached base in every game of the Regional. Lindenfelser was outstanding both at the plate, in center field, and on the mound, while Rohr continued to lead the team in batting average and on base percentage throughout the tournament.

St. Kate's best season in program history came to an end with the Game 7 loss to Luther. The Wildcats finished the year with an overall record of 34-11, which is the most wins in a season for any team in St. Kate's history. They also finished the season with the fewest losses in program history and advanced to the Championship game and forced a Game 7 in their first appearance in both the MIAC Playoffs and NCAA Tournament.

Luther advanced to the NCAA Super Regional just one year after being eliminated by Simpson in the opening round last season. The Norse will play Illinois Wesleyan in an undetermined location next weekend.