Saint Mary's (16-7, 6-2 MIAA) won two games Tuesday, but suffered an important loss Sunday.
Assistant coach Don Miller passed away Sunday night. A doubleheader originally scheduled for today will be played Friday so the team can attend the visitation tonight and the funeral Thursday morning.
On Tuesday night, the team swept a doubleheader at Albion, which had been postponed from Saturday due to bad weather.
"The most important thing we did was step up to honor our late coach," head coach Erin Sullivan said. "He was such a huge part of our program, and we thought two wins would be a fitting tribute to the softball excellence he helped create."
The Belles won the first game with a score 5-2. The team jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the third inning, and never relinquished it.
Sophomore Ashley Peterson, the Belles' most consistent offensive player, went 4-for-4 with three doubles and a home run. Junior Calli Davison pitched all seven innings, bringing her record to 8-6.
"Calli had a great day pitching, and our outfield made some fantastic plays," Sullivan said of game one.
In game two, the Belles eked out a 7-6 win in extra innings. The Belles scored three runs in the third inning to take an early 3-1 lead, but the Britons tied it 4-4 in the seventh frame.
"[The Britons] were full of energy and didn't give up, even after losing game one," said Sullivan.
Each team tacked on an extra run in the eighth. The Britons scored one more in the ninth, but the Belles answered with two more in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore Maureen Healy scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
Senior McKenna Corrigan pitched the complete game and also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run.
The team resumes play with a doubleheader at Hope on Friday, then plays two more doubleheaders over the weekend against Adrian on Saturday and at North Central College Sunday.
