NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Softball took down Anderson University in both games of their final non-conference double header, 10-4 in game one and 13-5 in game two. The Belles improve to 16-18 on the year while the Ravens fall to 12-20.
 
Game One
Saint Mary's got their offense going early, after a leadoff walk to sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN) and a hit by pitch for junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN). Jorgensen would be thrown out at third trying to steal a base while Moss advanced. Sophomore Gia Schiavone (Poland, OH) walked as well before Moss and Schiavone pulled off the double steal. Freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) then walked to load the bases before fellow freshman Maggie Voliva (Saint John, IN) singled back up the middle to bring both Moss and Schiavone in to score, giving the Belles an early 2-0 lead.
 
Anderson cut the deficit in half with a single run in the top of the second before the offenses were quiet for an inning and a half. The Ravens then tacked on two runs on three hits in the top of the fourth to take their first lead of the game.
 
The Belles bounced right back after back-to-back leadoff singles from Voliva and sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI). The two then proceeded to pull off the Belles second double steal of the game. After the steals, senior Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) gave herself some run support as she launched a deep drive to right center field that landed at the base of the fence for a two RBI triple, retaking the lead for the Belles. They wouldn't stop there, after a bunt single from sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI), freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL) laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to bring Mikitka in to score and advance Hinga. After they flipped the lineup back to the top of the order, Jorgensen would launch an RBI triple of her own into right center on the first pitch she saw to give the Belles a 6-3 lead.
 
Saint Mary's added another run in the bottom of the fifth, after a leadoff single from Hochmuth and a fielder's choice reach for Voliva, Mikitka singled through the right side to send her to third. Mikitka would advance to second on one wild pitch before Voliva came in to score off a second wild pitch in the next at bat, extending the lead to 7-3.
 
The offense didn't stop there, in the bottom of the sixth, Jorgensen and sophomore Katie Hans (Novi, MI) added back-to-back one out singles to put runners on early. After a sacrifice fly from Schiavone advanced Jorgensen, Hans stole second base to draw a throw, allowing Jorgensen to take home and add on another run. Hochmuth then singled to advance Hans to third before Voliva singled to right center field to bring Hans in from third. On the throw in, Voliva would be caught in a run down between first and second, allowing Hochmuth to scurry home and score just before Voliva was tagged out to count the run and bring the lead to 10-4.
 
Mikitka sat the Ravens down in order in the top of the seventh, including a strikeout, to secure the win in game one and her fifth win of the season.
 
As a team, Saint Mary's tallied 13 hits in game one with five Belles recording multi-hit games and seven Belles getting a hit. Voliva led the way going 3-4 on the day with two runs scored and a team high four RBIs. Jorgensen, Hochmuth, Mikitka, and Hinga all added two hits each while Mikitka added two RBIs. The first eight batters in the order for Saint Mary's tallied a run scored on the afternoon. The Belles were rampant on the base paths as well as they finished with seven stolen bases while Jorgensen led the way with two.
 
In the circle, Mikitka threw a complete game to earn her fifth win of the season. In her seven innings of work, she allowed just three earned runs on seven hits and tallied two strikeouts.
 
Game Two
Moss got things going for the Belles in game two, this time behind the dish as she closed out the top of the first inning by gunning a runner down at second base to take the Belles into the dugout and get the offense rolling.
 
After a one out walk and stolen base from Moss, Schiavone doubled to left center field after a lengthy at bat to bring her in to score and give Saint Mary's an early lead. Hochmuth followed that up with a single, then advancing on the throw, to left field that brought Schiavone in. St. Peter then added a double of her own to left center to bring Hochmuth in to score and force Anderson into a pitching change.
 
Voliva singled back up the middle as the first batter to face the new pitcher, advancing St. Peter, before promptly stealing second base and trying to draw a throw down. Sophomore Emma Luther (New Carlisle, IN) then added the third double of the inning, this time to right center field, to bring both St. Peter and Voliva in to score. Luther then advanced to third on a wild pitch before Hans grounded out in a sacrifice to bring her in to score, giving the Belles a 6-0 lead after the first inning.
 
The Belles added another run in the bottom of the second inning as Hochmuth launched her ninth home run of the season to deep left center field. Saint Mary's added another single run in the third, after Luther reached on a fielder's choice, sophomore Mary Gamble (Columbus, OH) came in to pinch run. Gamble then advanced to second on a ground out before heading to third on a wild pitch. After a four pitch walk to sophomore Maddi Duncan (Sarasota, FL), freshman Ella Kucala (Monee, IL) placed a single through the left side of the infield to bring Gamble in to score, extending the lead to 8-0.
 
Anderson bounced back with four runs on five hits in the top of the fourth, including four straight to kick off the inning, to cut the deficit in half. Saint Mary's would respond in the bottom of the fourth. After a one out double to right center for Hochmuth and a ground out to advance her to third, Voliva reached on a throwing error by the third baseman to bring Hochmuth in to score, making the lead 9-4.
 
The Ravens added another run in the fifth off a double and RBI single to try and cut into the Belles lead, but the offense wasn't finished scoring yet.
 
After a leadoff walk from Duncan, she found herself on third base with two outs after back-to-back groundouts. Schiavone then walked and stole second before Hochmuth reached for the fourth time in the game on a walk to load the bases. St. Peter then lined a sharp ground ball to the shortstop that bounced off her knee to allow her to reach and eventually find herself on third base after all three runners would come in to score and clear the bases. St. Peter then showed why she's one of the most aggressive players on the team. On the third pitch to Voliva, St. Peter took advantage of some lackadaisical play by the Ravens and stole home to close out the game and give the Belles a 13-5 run rule victory.
 
Hochmuth led the team offensively after going 3-3 in the second game and reaching in all four plate appearances and was just a triple shy of the cycle. She added four runs scored on the game and drove in two runs herself. Voliva added another multi-hit game with two hits of her own. St. Peter and Schiavone each came in to score twice while Luther added two RBIs. As a team they tallied five extra base hits and stole four more bases.
 
In the circle, sophomore Aubrey Zachary (Granger, IN) earned her fourth win of the season, throwing a complete game. Zachary allowed five runs on ten hits and struck out three batters.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's hits the road on Thursday for a trip to Alma College for a double header starting at 3pm. The Belles then return home on April 29 as they host Adrian College for their home finale as they celebrate Senior Day.