SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College softball team will take on the St. Catherine University Wildcats on Thursday, May 7 at 4:30 p.m. at the Gusties' softball field in the opening round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs.
 
GUSTAVUS GOLDEN GUSTIES
The Gusties enter the MIAC Playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the six-team single-elimination tournament. Gustavus is 20-18 overall and went 13-9 in the conference during the regular season. The team closed out the regular season on fire, going 7-1 in their final eight conference games to leap up to the fourth seed.
 
Paige Gritzmaker leads the Gusties with a .967 OPS, slashing .342/.417/.550 with a team-high 12 doubles and 32 RBI. Lauren Lambert leads the team in batting average and on-base percentage, slashing .393/.490/.444 with a team-best 46 hits and 25 walks drawn while also leading Gustavus on the basepaths with 10 steals.
 
Maizie Anderson leads the Gusties in the circle with 98.1 innings pitched, striking out 105 batters with a 2.99 ERA and a .221 opponent batting average. Hailey Petzel has the best ERA on the team at 1.58 through 57.2 innings, striking out 34 and holding opponents to .266 hitting.
 
ST. CATHERINE WILDCATS
The Wildcats enter the postseason as the No. 5 seed in the MIAC Playoffs. St. Kate's is 23-17 overall and went 12-10 in the conference in the regular season. The team struggled in the closing stretch of the season, going 2-6 in their final eight games but ended on a high note with a two-game sweep of Hamline in their regular season finale.
 
Grace Swigart leads the Wildcats at the plate, slashing .434/.455/.632. Faith Bonse leads St. Kate's with five home runs and 34 RBI, slashing.372/.410/.612.
 
In the circle, Alexa Carlstrom leads the Wildcats with 101.2 innings pitched, striking out 43 while allowing a .301 opponent batting average and a 3.51 ERA. Taylor Graf follows with 76.2 innings pitched, striking out 71 while holding opponents to a .218 batting average and 4.11 ERA.
 
MATCHUP HISTORY
The Gusties traveled up to St. Paul for a road doubleheader against the Wildcats on Friday, May 1, sweeping St. Kate's 5-1, 2-1 in the penultimate series of the regular season last weekend.
 
Gustavus trailed 1-0 in the sixth inning of game one, but then Hailey Petzel blasted a three-run homer to open up a five-run inning in the 5-1 win for the Gusties.
 
In the 2-1 game two victory, Paige Gritzmaker drove in both Gustavus runs to lead the Gusties to the win. In the circle, Maizie Anderson entered the game in the second inning and went on to pitch six shutout innings while striking out seven.
 
PLAYOFF ADMISSION
All tickets for the 2026 MIAC Softball Playoffs will be sold and purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will not be cash sales at any venue; however, spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device, including while at the venue.
 
Tickets for the quarterfinal contests are on sale now; semifinal and championship game tickets will go on sale Thursday night.
 
General admission adult tickets are $12 (plus HTT service charge). Student (with ID) tickets are $3 (plus HTT service charge), and children ages five and under are admitted free.
 
PAY-PER-VIEW
The 2026 MIAC Softball Playoffs will be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Fans who are unable to attend the tournament may purchase a $12 "championship pass" to stream the entire MIAC Softball Playoffs live. On-demand access to playoff games will be available after the NCAA Tournament concludes.
 
The MIAC Sports Network Help Page provides guidance and links to help fans navigate the streaming platform. Hudl Customer Support is also available by email or 24/7 chat to assist with any issues.
 
2026 MIAC SOFTBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Game 1: No. 5 St. Catherine at No. 4 Gustavus | 4:30 PM | Tickets | PPV Stream |
Game 2: No. 6 Carleton at No. 3 St. Olaf | 4:30 PM |  Tickets | PPV Stream |
 
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Game 3: Winner Game 1 at No. 1 Saint Benedict | 11:00 AM |  Tickets | PPV Stream |
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 2 Saint Mary's | 1:30 PM* |  Tickets | PPV Stream |
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 | 4:00 PM* |  Tickets | PPV Stream |
*Games 3-5 played at the field of the No. 1 seed
 
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