NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Softball swept the University of Olivet in their Saturday afternoon double header, 8-0 in game one and 11-1 in game two. The Belles improve to 13-15 (2-4 MIAA) on the year while the Comets fall to 2-22 (0-6 MIAA).
 
The Belles also celebrated their annual Strikeout Cancer game as they honored those that they love who are currently battling cancer, those who have survived, and those who they hold in their hearts.
 
Game One
The Saint Mary's offense got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning, after a leadoff single from freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO). Hochmuth proceeded to steal both second and third before coming in to score off a wild pitch to give the Belles an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Belles continued to dominate offensively in the third inning after sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI) got things started with a one-out walk before junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) singled. Both advanced on a groundout before sophomore Gia Schiavone (Poland, OH) tripled down the left field line, bringing both around to score. After Hochmuth walked, her and Schiavone pulled off a double steal, bringing Schiavone in to score, giving Saint Mary's a 4-0 lead.
 
After a quiet fourth inning, sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN) kicked off the fifth with a one-out four-pitch walk. Jorgensen then swiped both second and third before Schiavone walked and took second base easily. Hochmuth then lined a single back up the middle to score the pair. Olivet made a pitching change before Hochmuth advanced on a wild pitch and freshman Maggie Voliva (Saint John, IN) walked on four pitches. Junior Emma Smiley (Jackson, MI) pinch hit with two outs before lining a single to right center field that saw Hochmuth easily score and Voliva able to come in to end the game off a throwing error by the right fielder, giving Smiley the walk off hit.
 
Hochmuth led the team going 2-2 on the game, coming around to score twice and driving in two runs while swiping three bags. Three other Belles tallied hits while Schiavone also added two RBIs and two runs scored. Smiley joined the two with two RBIs as well. Saint Mary's swiped six bags on the game and drew five walks.
 
In the circle, senior Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) threw a complete game shutout and allowed just two hits and faced 17 batters, two over the minimum. Mikitka improves to 4-7 on the season after a strong stretch of pitching performances.
 
Game Two
After a quiet first couple of innings for both teams, the Saint Mary's offense found their footing in the top of the third inning. Freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL) reached via a walk after coming back from down 1-2 in the count. Jorgensen then reached on a field error by the shortstop after she missed a popup on the infield. Sophomore Mary Gamble (Columbus, OH) then pinch-hit for Moss and laid down a beautiful bunt single to load the bases. With one out, Hochmuth singled through the left side as both Ryan and Jorgensen came across to score, giving the Belles a 2-0 lead.
 
The Belles continued to tack on in the top of the fourth, sophomore Emma Luther (New Carlisle, IN) and Ryan reached on singled and advanced to second, Luther came in to score on the throwing error by the Olivet third baseman. Ryan advanced to third on a ground out before Moss singled to the shortstop and brought her in to score, giving the Belles a 4-0 advantage.
 
After going quiet in the fifth inning, Saint Mary's exploded in the sixth. Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) and Moss reached via walks while Jorgensen reached on a fielder's choice in the middle of them to load the bases. Schiavone then singled through the left side and advanced to second as both Yeo and Jorgensen came in to score. After an Olivet pitching change, Hochmuth doubled down the left field line as both Moss and Schiavone came in to score, adding onto the lead. Hochmuth stole third before Voliva reached on a fielder's choice that saw Hochmuth score as the Comet shortstop tried to throw her out at home. Voliva swiped second base before junior Sammy Schrader (Romeoville, IL) hit a pinch hit single to third base and proceeded to swipe second base herself. 
 
After a ground out, Smiley hit another pinch hit single to right field to bring Voliva in to score. Yeo then came up for the second time in the inning and hit an RBI single to right field to score Schrader and put the Belles ahead 11-0. Olivet scored one run in the bottom of the sixth inning after a leadoff single, the Comets hit a two-out RBI double to left field before the runner was out at third trying to stretch the double to a triple to end the game.
 
Schiavone and Hochmuth tallied two hits each while eight other Belles added a hit to contribute to their 12 total. Hochmuth drove in four runs in the game while Schiavone drove in two of the 11 RBIs. Jorgensen and Ryan came in to score twice each. The Belles swiped five more bases and drew six more walks in game two.
 
In the circle, sophomore Aubrey Zachary (Granger, IN) dominated, throwing all six innings and allowed just the one run on seven hits. Zachary totaled nine strikeouts in the game, the most for a Saint Mary's pitcher since April 2019.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's returns to action on Wednesday, April 15, as they host 2nd-ranked Trine University for a double header starting at 3pm.