MELBOURNE, Fla. - Saint Mary's College Softball swept both games at the USSSA Space Coast Complex on Friday by run-rule, defeating Franciscan University, 12-1 in five innings, and taking down Fitchburg State University, 14-1 in six innings. The Belles improve to 5-9 on the year.
 
Saint Mary's vs Franciscan
Saint Mary's got the game started strong as sophomore Gia Schiavone (Poland, OH) reached on a two-out hit by pitch before swiping second base. Freshman Maggie Voliva (Saint John, IN) doubled to left field to bring Schiavone home to kick off the scoring for the Belles. Senior Sam MIkitka (Naperville, IL) then singled up the middle to bring Voliva in to score to double the lead. After stealing second, Mikitka would finish the inning after being cut down at the plate off a single from sophomore Katie Hans (Novi, MI).
 
While the Belles defense shined in the top of the second inning, the offense kept their hot start going. After sophomore Emma Luther (New Carlisle, IN) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI) followed her with a single to right field. Sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI) followed that up with a bases clearing triple to right field to bring both Luther and St. Peter around to double the lead. After a pitching change, junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) took her second walk of the day before swiping second base. Hinga and Moss both came in to score after back-to-back wild pitches to put Saint Mary's ahead 6-0 after two innings. 
 
After a quiet third inning for both teams, Franciscan got their first hit of the day in the fourth inning while bringing their lone run of the day across with a homer. Saint Mary's would bounce back in a big way in the bottom of the fourth. After a leadoff walk and steal for sophomore Maddi Duncan (Sarasota, FL), freshman Ella Kucala (Monee, IL) followed with a single and steal of her own. Duncan would then come in to score off another wild pitch for the Barons. Voliva then followed that with a single to right field to bring in Kucala before being thrown out at second trying to stretch her single to a double.
 
The Belles then had six straight batters reach after Mikitka singled and Hans reached on a throwing error, allowing Mikitka to advance to third. While Hans drew a throw with a steal, Mikitka scampered home to extend the lead. Luther then followed that up with a double to right center field to bring Hans in to score, putting the Belles in double figures. Freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL) tallied a pinch hit single to right before Hinga was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Duncan then walked for the second time in the inning to bring Luther in to score before everyone would advance and Ryan scored on another wild pitch to close out the scoring for the Belles.
 
Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) continued her dominating run in the circle on the day, after a leadoff single in the top of the fifth, she tallied three quick outs to end the game and give the Belles the win.
 
Voliva, Mikitka, and St. Peter all led the team with two hits on the day while five other Belles tallied a hit. The Belles also drew free bases in eight plate appearances, drawing five walks and three hit by pitches. Moss and Duncan both tallied two walks on the day. Of the 12 batters for Saint Mary's, 11 of them reached base safely with all 11 coming in to score at least once. Voliva and Hinga also led the team with two RBIs each while Luther came around to score twice. On the bases, the Belles swiped seven bases while Mikitka took two herself.
 
In the circle, Yeo threw a stellar game, throwing all five innings and allowing just one run on three hits and holding the Barons hitless through three innings and allowing just one base runner in those innings. Yeo also tallied a career-high five strikeouts on the game.
 
Saint Mary's vs Fitchburg State
Saint Mary's continued their dominating offense into the second game. After back-to-back singles from sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN) and Moss, the two pulled off a double steal to both get in scoring position. Schiavone then singled to left field to bring Jorgensen in to score and advance on the throw. Two batters later, Voliva continued her strong day with a single to right field to bring both Moss and Schiavone in to score. For Fitchburg State, after a leadoff double, Hinga would throw the runner out at third on a steal attempt to start the game defensively for the Belles.
 
The Saint Mary's offense kept it rolling with a leadoff triple from St. Peter to open the second inning before Hinga would single up the middle to bring her home. Giving the Belles an early 4-0 lead. The Belles defense held the Falcons quiet until the fourth inning as they squeaked in a run to cut the deficit, 4-1. This would be the start of back-to-back big innings for the Saint Mary's offense.
 
Schiavone tallied a leadoff single before freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) doubled down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position. Voliva then grounded out, allowing Schiavone to score and Hochmuth to advance. Mikitka, sophomore Arianna Vazquez (Carol Stream, IL), and St. Peter all singled in a row to load the bases. Mikitka's single brought home Hochmuth to extend the lead. Jorgensen then reached on a throwing error by the pitcher, allowing Mikitka to come in to score, extending the Belles lead to 7-1.
 
After junior Sammy Schrader (Romeoville, IL) sat down the Falcons in the bottom of the fifth, the Saint Mary's bats caught fire again.Schiavone led off the sixth with a double to left field before Hochmuth singled up the middle to bring her home. Voliva followed that up with a ground-rule double of her own to put two Belles in scoring position. After the third pitching change for Fitchburg State, Mikitka and Vazquez both singled to bring home both Hochmuth and Voliva put the Belles in double figures for the second time today. St. Peter then continued her hot day with a single to right field, allowing Mikitka to score. Another error for the Falcons allowed Hinga to reach safely and advance to second while both Vazquez and St. Peter came around to score. Three batters later, Schiavone singled into no mans land behind first base and allowing Hinga to easily cross the plate, putting the Belles up a staggering, 14-1.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, after a leadoff single and wild pitch put a Falcon in scoring position, Schrader struck out a batter looking before getting a fly ball out to right field. And with some poor base running from the Falcons, Moss threw it in to St. Peter for a game ending double play.
 
The Belles totaled 19 hits on the game, the most in a game this season and the most for the program since April 2024. St. Peter and Schaivone finished with four hits each, St. Peter going a perfect 4-4 on the day, while Hochmuth, Voliva, Mikitka, and Vazquez all added two while every batter who came to the plate tallied a hit in the game. Saint Mary's added five extra base hits with Schiavone, Hochmuth, and Voliva adding doubles while St. Peter added a double and triple.
 
Voliva knocked in three runs for the Belles while MIkitka, Schiavone, and Hinga tallied two RBIs. Five other Belles added one RBI each. Schiavone led the team with three runs scored while Hochmuth, Mikitka, and St. Peter all came around twice. Five Belles added one run to their stat sheet. Moss and Jorgensen also added a stolen base to their season totals.
 
Schrader shined in the circle for the Belles, allowing one run on eight hits in her six innings of work. She also struck out one batter while forcing nine fly outs and six ground outs
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's closes out spring break play tomorrow with a double header against Rutgers University-Newark and St. Norbert College. The Belles then return home for three straight non-conference matchups, starting on March 19 as they host Aurora University before they host Goshen College on March 22 and close off the stretch against Anderson University on March 26.