Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Cathedral’s Kiah Helget tags out Sleepy Eye’s Paige Haala at second base during a Tomahawk Conference softball game at Harman Park in New Ulm.

NEW ULM — New Ulm Cathedral continued its winning streak with a 10-5 victory over Sleepy Eye in a Tomahawk Conference softball game Monday at Harman Park.

Cathedral has won 11 straight to open the season, with 10 of those wins coming against conference opponents.

Key to the team’s success has been their hot bats, as the Greyhounds have averaged 11.6 runs per game this season.

“I think we’re staying in every at-bat,” Cathedral head coach Jamie Kuehn said of the team’s offensive success. “We’re hitting a lot of foul balls and giving ourselves a lot of chances to get that hit, and that’s been successful for us.”

Ava Schmid was exemplary of the team’s offensive success in the game, collecting three hits, two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base in the game, while Jenna Hotovec had a two-run home run. Alexa Hornick and Kiah Helget added a hit and an RBI for the Greyhounds each.

While offense has been the standout feature of the team over the season, pitching and defense aren’t far behind. In this game, both Cathedral pitchers saw time on the mound.

Jayda Altermatt got her third win of the season with two strikeouts while allowing three earned runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings, while Abby Hillesheim closed out the game with seven strikeouts, allowing two earned runs on two hits.

“They’re a really nice one-two punch,” Kuehn said. “They have different strengths, and it’s nice to see them pick each other up. Even when one’s on the bench, they’re cheering the loudest for the other one. They’re a really nice duo to lean on, and they’ve really stepped up this year in Madelyn [Haala]’s absence and that’s been nice to see too.”

Katelyn Tauer took the loss for Sleepy Eye, pitching three innings and striking out five while allowing eight runs, six earned, on five hits. At the plate for the Indians, Paige Haala had two hits and a run scored while Tauer hit a two-run homer. Brissa Hernandez added a hit, a run and an RBI.

Cathedral scored early and often in the game, plating two in the first on a center-field home run by Hotovec and three more in the second with RBIs by Schmid and Helget. The Greyhounds added three more the third, with Madelyn Haala scoring on an error, Margo Finstad stealing home and Hillesheim being brought in with a single by Schmid to take an 8-0 lead.

Tauer got the Indians on the board in the fourth with a two-run home run, followed by Hernandez reaching home on a walk with bases loaded. With one out on the board, Hillesheim was brought in and got the Greyhounds out of the inning with a strikeout and a groundout.

“We really emphasized getting the outs when the opportunities are there for you and minimizing errors,” Kuehn said. “Especially with two inexperienced varsity pitchers, we want to make sure they get out of those innings as fast as possible to preserve their momentum.”

After taking on another run with a sacrifice fly by Haala in the fourth and one more on a sacrifice fly by Hornick in the sixth, Cathedral held a 10-3 lead going into the final inning. Singles by Callie Evers and Paige Haala and walks by Taylor Berkner and Tauer scored a run for Sleepy Eye in the seventh, then Paige Haala reached home on a single by Hernandez that just got past the outreached glove of Helget. But once again, the Cathedral defense was able to rally, with Hornick snagging a line drive to second to end the game.

Cathedral will play Minnesota Valley Lutheran at Harman Park on Thursday. Sleepy Eye will play Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s in a doubleheader on Thursday.