Saint Mary's College

ALBION, Mich. - Saint Mary's College Softball 123, falling in game one 5-2 and winning game two 8-0 in five innings. The Belles finish the season 19-21 (6-10 MIAA) while the Britons finish the season 18-22 (5-11 MIAA).
 
Game One
Strong pitching for both teams controlled the game early before Saint Mary's got some offense going in the third inning. Freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL) got things going with a two out double to left field before sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN) launched a triple into right center field to bring Ryan in to score easily. Junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) followed that up with an RBI single to left field to bring Jorgensen in to score to give the Belles a 2-0 lead.
 
Albion took control of the game in the bottom of the third as they added a run on two hits and an error to cut into the deficit. They then added another run on two more hits in the fourth to tie the game. The Britons followed that up with a go ahead run in the bottom of the fifth off three hits to take their first lead of the ball game.
 
Albion added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth and paired that with strong pitching across the final four innings to take the win in game one, 5-2.
 
Ryan and fellow freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) led the team with two hits each, both players adding a double while Jorgensen tripled. Jorgensen and Moss added an RBI each while Jorgensen and Ryan scored once.
 
In the circle, senior Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) was the pitcher of record, throwing five and a third innings, allowing four runs on nine hits. Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) entered in relief, throwing two-thirds of an inning and allowing one run on one hit.
 
Game Two
After a shutdown top of the first inning defensively, the Saint Mary's offense got hot early in game two. After a leadoff single from Jorgensen, Moss would ground out to the third baseman. Jorgensen took a wide turn around second as she saw third base uncovered, causing a throw to second by the first baseman to sail into the outfield, allowing Jorgensen to use her speed and come all the way home. The Belles followed that up with three straight two out doubles to left field. Hochmuth got the run started before sophomore Emma Luther (New Carlisle, IN) brought her around to score and sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI) extended the lead by bringing Luther in to score with a double of her own and give the Belles an early 3-0 lead.
 
After a couple of quiet innings from both teams, the Saint Mary's bats got hot again in the fourth. Sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI), Ryan, and Jorgensen tallied three straight singles to lead off the inning to load the bases. Moss would ground into a fielder's choice to bring Hinga in to score and extend the lead. Moss quickly took off for second as the ball squeaked away from the Albion catcher as Ryan came in to score and Moss went to third. Sophomore Maggie Voliva (Saint John, IN) followed that by reaching on an error from the third baseman, allowing Moss to score. Hochmuth would double for the second time in the game before Luther grounded out to bring Voliva in and extend the lead to 7-0. 
 
Sophomore pitcher Aubrey Zachary (Granger, IN) continued to dominate the Britons all day long before the Belles offense was ready to go home. After back-to-back one out singles from Hinga and Ryan, Jorgensen walked to load the bases. Freshman Ella Kucala (Monee, IL) then came in to pinch hit for Moss. Kucala sent a deep fly ball into the outfield that Hinga was able to easily come in to score on and finish off the game with an 8-0 run rule victory.
 
Saint Mary's dominated in all facets of the game. The Belles added 12 total hits on the game while five Belles had a multi-hit game. Jorgensen, Hochmuth, St. Peter, Hinga, and Ryan all tacked on two hits each while Hochmuth added two doubles and St. Peter and Luther each had one. Hinga came in to score twice while six other Belles scored once. Moss and Luther both drove in two RBIs on the afternoon.
 
In the circle, Zachary continued her dominant streak, posting her seventh win of the season and her fifth consecutive complete game start. Throwing all five innings, Zachary allowed no runs and only four hits while striking out six batters. Her six batters was the third game in a row where she has struck out at least six. Zachary's seven wins is the most in a season by a Belle since 2021 and is the first Belle to finish with a winning record (minimum eight starts) since 2018.
 
Saint Mary's finishes the season with a 19-21 overall record and 6-10 MIAA record. Their 19 wins are the most in a season since 2018. They also saw a nine-win improvement in their second year under the direction of Head Coach Jordyn Walter. Statistically, the team improved drastically in every offensive category while also improving in multiple pitching statistics.