Saint Mary's College

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Softball earned a split with Adrian College in their home finale and Senior Day, falling in game one 14-4 and taking the win in game two 4-1. The Belles move to 18-20 (5-9 MIAA) on the year while the Bulldogs go to 18-20 (5-9 MIAA).
 
Saint Mary's honored senior Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) between games.
 
Game One
Saint Mary's got the scoring going early as they took a quick lead in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff single up the middle and a stolen base from sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN), freshman Maggie Voliva (Saint John, IN) singled on a tough play to the third baseman. With her smart baserunning, Jorgensen took home while the Bulldogs weren't paying attention to score the first run of the game and advance Voliva to second. Freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) followed that with a single of her own before taking second base on the throw to third. Sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI) added the third straight single for the Belles to bring Voliva home and advance Hochmuth. Mikitka grounded out to bring Hochmuth in to score before St. Peter was thrown out attempting to take third, giving the Belles an early 3-0 lead.
 
Adrian came out strong in the second inning, adding six runs on six hits with two extra base hits. Saint Mary's tacked on another run in the bottom of the inning after a single from sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI) was followed up with a single from freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL). The two advanced on a wild pitch before Hinga came in to score off of a Jorgensen sacrifice fly out to left field, cutting the deficit to 6-4. 
 
The Bulldogs offense stayed hot, adding five more runs in the third inning before adding three in the fifth. Their pitching started to stifle the Belles offense, shutting them down in the final three innings.
 
Jorgensen and St. Peter led the team with two hits each on the game while five other Belles added one. Four different Belles came in to score once while Jorgensen and St. Peter added an RBI each.
 
In the circle, Mikitka was the pitcher of record, throwing two innings and allowing six runs on seven hits. Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) followed in relief, throwing one inning and allowing five runs on five hits while striking out one batter. Junior Sammy Schrader (Romeoville, IL) finished off the game for the Belles, throwing the final two innings and allowing two earned runs on two hits.
 
Game Two
Saint Mary's got on the board first in the top of the first inning to kick off game two. After a leadoff bunt single from Jorgensen, she proceeded to steal second and third on back-to-back pitches. Junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) then grounded out to the second baseman for a sacrifice to bring Jorgensen in to score and give the Belles an early 1-0 lead. 
 
After a quiet second inning, Jorgensen led off the third with another single before advancing to third off two ground balls. Hochmuth added a two out single back up the middle to bring Jorgensen in to score and extend the lead. Adrian would cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning off a two out home run, putting the Belles ahead 2-1.
 
Saint Mary's continued to tack on runs in the fourth, after a leadoff single from Mikitka, sophomore Katie Hans (Novi, MI) reached on a fielder's choice. Ryan then followed that up with a single into the deep part of the left side of the infield. Jorgensen then reached on a fielder's choice that saw Hans come in to score off a throwing error from the second baseman, extending the lead to 3-1.
 
The Belles added their final run of the game after a leadoff triple to right center field for Hochmuth. St. Peter followed that up with a sacrifice fly out to right field as Hochmuth easily made her way in to score, giving the Belles their final run, going ahead 4-1. 
 
Adrian began to threaten in the bottom of the seventh inning. After a lead off pinch hit double, the Bulldogs laid down a bunt and reached on a throwing error. The runner on second tried to come around to score before Jorgensen threw her out at home. The runner who reached on the error then tried making a dash to second but was cut down as Moss threw down to Hochmuth who was sprinting in behind the play from center field for the double play. A popout ended the game, securing the double header split.
 
Saint Mary's totalled 11 hits on the game as a team, the 13th time this season they have recorded double-digit hits. Jorgensen led the team offensively once again going 3-4 on the game while reaching in all four at bats. She also stole the show on the base paths, literally, swiping three bags on the game. Hochmuth and St. Peter each added two hits while Hochmuth had the lone extra base hit with her triple. Jorgensen also came in to score twice while the Belles had three players tally one RBI each.
 
In the circle, sophomore Aubrey Zachary (Granger, IN) put up a stellar performance for the Belles as she improved to 6-3 on the year. Throwing a complete game and allowing just four hits and one run. The sophomore allowed no more than one hit in an inning and only saw two base runners on at the same time once. Zachary struck out seven batters on the game, her fourth time striking out at least five batters in a game this season.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's will hit the road for their season finale on Friday, May 1. The Belles will travel to Albion College to take on the Britons in a double header starting at 1pm.