MELBOURNE, Fla. - Saint Mary's College Softball fell in both of their contests at the The Space Coast Spring Games on Wednesday, falling 13-12 to Wilmington College, and falling to St. Catherine College, 13-4. The Belles drop to 3-9 on the season.

Saint Mary's vs Wilmington

The Saint Mary's offense got hot early on to begin their day of play. Junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) led off the game with a walk before finding herself on third with one out. Sophomore Gia Schiavone (Poland, OH) hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Moss and give the Belles an early lead. After freshmen Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) and Maggie Voliva (Saint John, IN) reached on a hit by pitch and single, sophomore Arianna Vazquez (Carol Stream, IL) reached on an error and brought Hochmuth in to score. As Vazquez stole second, Voliva would score on the throw to extend the lead. Sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI) followed that up with a single to left field to bring Vazquez in to score to finish off the first inning ahead 4-0.

The Belles hot offense kept it rolling the second inning as sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI) walked and was followed by singles from Moss and freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL). Schiavone then battled back and drew a bases-loaded walk to score Hinga. Hochmuth then reached on a fielder's choice that saw Moss come in to score to give the Belles an early 6-0 lead. Wilmington would follow that up with two runs of their own to cut the deficit, trailing 6-2 after two innings.

In the third, St. Peter started off with a single before freshman Ella Kucala (Monee, IL) followed with a four-pitch walk. Hinga then hit an RBI single to right field to bring St. Peter around to score. Moss followed that with an RBI single of her own to center field to bring Kucala around. Two batters later, Schiavone singled to center to bring Hinga in, giving the Belles an early 9-2 lead. The Quakers offense found their stride with four runs of their own to cut the deficit, trailing 9-6.

Wilmington outscored Saint Mary's 4-0 over the fourth and fifth innings to take their first lead, 10-9. The Belles tied the game back up in the top of the sixth after Schiavone tripled to lead off the inning and Hochmuth flew out to center to bring her home. The Quakers followed with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead, 12-10.

The Saint Mary's offense continued their stride in the top of the seventh after a leadoff single for sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN). Moss and Ryan followed that up with singles of their own to load the bases. Schiavone then popped up to the first baseman which allowed Jorgensen to take advantage of some lackadaisical play from the first baseman to come in and score and allow Moss to advance to third. Hochmuth then singled to left to bring Moss in to score and tie the game at 12.

After a walk and a single, the Quakers were able to hit a walk-off single back up the middle to take the game, 13-12.

Moss led the team with three hits on the afternoon while Ryan, Schiavone, Voliva, St. Peter, and Hinga all tallied two hits as the Belles finished with a season high 16 hits as a team. Schiavone led the team with four RBIs on the day while Hochmuth knocked in three of her own. Moss came around to score three times for the Belles while Hinga scored twice.

In the circle, junior Sammy Schrader (Romeoville, IL) got the start for Saint Mary's, throwing two and two thirds innings while allowing six runs on seven hits and striking out one batter. Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) followed Schrader with one and a third inning of her own, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out one. Senior Sam MIkitka (Naperville, IL) finished off the game for the Belles, throwing two and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs on nine hits.

Saint Mary's vs St. Catherine

St. Catherine got their offense going early with a three run first inning but Saint Mary's battled right back. After a leadoff triple for Jorgensen and a walk for Moss, Jorgensen would be cut down at the plate as Moss advanced to second after her walk. Schiavone then singled to bring Moss in to score and advance on the throw. Schiavone then came around to score herself after St. Peter singled to cut the deficit to one, 3-2, after the first inning.

The Wildcats offense continued to surge as they put up five runs in the second inning to extend their lead. Both teams' offenses would slow down before The Wildcats put up five more runs in the top of the fifth.

The Belles tried to start their comeback as Moss singled with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to start a train of five straight batters reaching. After Moss' single, Schiavone singled herself. With runners on second and third, Hochmuth singled to left center field to bring both runners around to score. St. Peter would then single and Yeo would walk to load the bases, but the Wildcats cut down the Belles final try, taking their 13-4 win.

Schiavone and St. Peter led the team with two hits each while both sophomore Emma Luther (New Carlisle, IN) and Yeo drew two walks each. Schiavone and Moss both scored twice while Hochmuth knocked in two runs and St. Peter and Schiavone brought in one.

In the circle, Mikitka started the game, throwing four hits and three runs while Yeo followed, allowing ten runs on ten hits and striking out two.

UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES

Saint Mary's will take a quick day off before returning for their final two days at the USSSA Space Coast Complex. The Belles will take on Franciscan University and Fitchburg State University on Friday before taking on Rutgers University-Newark and St. Norbert College on Saturday.