NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Softball earned a sweep of Goshen College on Sunday afternoon, taking game one 13-5 in five innings and taking game two 6-2. The Belles improve to 9-11 on the year while the Maple Leafs fall to 11-17.
 
Game One
Goshen got the scoring started with an RBI double in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. Saint Mary's bounced right back after a leadoff single for junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) and an error allowing sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN) to kick off the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Gia Schiavone (Poland, OH) followed that up with an RBI single to right field before freshman Maggie Voliva (Saint John, IN) would ground out, allowing Jorgensen to come in to score to give the Belles the lead. The Belles would extend the lead as senior Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) singled to center field to bring Schiavone in to score, giving the Belles a 3-1 lead.
 
The Maple Leafs would bounce right back with four runs on four hits in the top of the second to retake the lead. The Belles followed that with an offensive explosion in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI) got the inning going with a one out double past the shortstop before Moss and Jorgensen followed that up with first pitch singles, bringing Hinga in to score. Schiavone followed that up with a triple to left center field, bringing both Moss and Jorgensen around to score. Schiavone then scored on a throwing error by the Goshen catcher after a back-pick attempt. Freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) then launched her second home run of the season to center field to extend the Belles lead. Voliva then walked and advanced to second after a throwing error by the pitcher on Mikitka's fielder's choice. After a double-steal for the two, sophomore Arianna Vazquez (Carol Stream, IL) reached on a dropped third strike, as both Voliva and Mikitka came in to score on the throw, giving the Belles a 10-5 lead after two innings.
 
Both teams stayed quiet in the third and fourth innings before a pinch hit triple for freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL) got the offense rolling again. Hinga followed that up with an RBI single. Moss then walked and Jorgensen singled to load the bases. Schiavone would then reach on a fielder's choice which saw both Hinga and Moss score the game-ending runs on a throwing error by the Goshen third baseman, closing out the Belles 13-5 run-rule victory.
 
The Belles totaled 11 hits on the day while Moss, Jorgensen, Schiavone, and Hinga all added two hits alone. The Belles had four extra base hits as Hochmuth homered, Schiavone and Ryan tripled, and Hinga doubled. Moss came around to score three times in the game while Jorgensen, Schiavone, and Hinga all scored twice. Schiavone led the team with three RBIs on the game as well.
 
Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) got the win in the circle, throwing all five innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out one batter. Yeo moves her record to 3-4 on the year.
 
Game Two
The Saint Mary's offense stayed hot in the first inning of game two, with one out, Jorgensen, Schiavone, and Hochmuth tallied three straight singles to load the bases. Jorgensen then came in to score on a wild pitch, advancing the other two runners. Schiavone then came in to score after an RBI ground out from Mikitka, giving the Belles an early 2-0 lead.
 
Neither team scored in the second but the Belles got right back to work in the third. After a short single back to the pitcher to lead off the inning for Jorgensen, Schiavone added her second triple of the day to left center field, bringing Jorgensen in to score. Hochmuth then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing Schiavone in to score, doubling the Saint Mary's lead, 4-0.
 
After another quiet fourth inning, Saint Mary's would tack on two more runs in the fifth. After a leadoff walk for Hochmuth, sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI) doubled to left center field to bring Hochmuth all the way around to score. St. Peter swiftly stole third base shortly after before a bunt single from Ryan brought her in to score, giving the Belles a 6-0 advantage.

Goshen would put up two runs on two hits in the top of the sixth to try and mount a comeback, but the Saint Mary's defense cut that down promptly. Mikitka closed out the game in the top of the seventh inning with three straight flyouts scattered across the outfield on just four pitches, securing the 6-2 win and double header sweep.
 
Schiavone led the team offensively with three hits in game two while Moss, Jorgensen, and Ryan all tallied two hits. The Belles added another three extra base hits as Schiavone tripled for the second time on the day and St. Peter and Moss added doubles. Jorgensen and Schiavone came around to score twice each while five different Belles recorded RBIs. St. Peter also swiped two bags on the day.
 
Mikitka earned her third win of the season in the circle, throwing all seven innings, allowing just two unearned runs and striking out a pair of batters in the fifth inning.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's continues their homestand on Saturday, April 4, as they welcome in Kalamazoo College for their MIAA opener. The double header between the Belles and Hornets will kick off at 12pm.