Saint Mary’s split its double header against Alma on Wednesday, claiming the first game, 3-2, and dropping the second, 6-0.
The Belles (12-11, 2-2 MIAA) dealt the Scots (20-6, 7-1) their first conference lost in a 10-inning contest in the first half of the doubleheader.
Behind a strong team batting performance, Saint Mary’s jumped to a 2-0 lead after two innings. Sophomore captain and shortstop Jamie Young opened the game with a single in the bottom of the first. A sacrifice bunt from freshman designated player Eliese Hornberger advanced Young to third, and a sacrifice fly from sophomore right fielder brought Young home.
Senior third baseman Kayla Chapman started off the bottom of the second by blasting a triple, putting the Belles in a great position to score against the Scots. Waiting patiently on third, Chapman took advantage of a wild pitch three batters later to score, giving Saint Mary’s a 2-0 lead.
On the mound for the Belles, sophomore Morgan Raymer held the Scots hitless from the third inning through the fifth. Saint Mary’s was only able to manage a single hit in that span, keeping the game 2-0 going into the sixth inning.
Alma managed to load the bases with no outs to start the sixth inning. However, Raymer rebounded for the Belles by striking out the next batter, allowing them to hold on to the lead. An error then gave the Scots the opening they were looking for, and they took advantage of it, scoring two runs to tie the game.
Moving into extra innings, Saint Mary’s came close to ending the game in the bottom of the seventh. Chapman got to third with two outs, but the Belles could not drive the runner in. Both teams went three up and three down in the next two innings.
In the 10th, the Belles broke through and took the lead to end the game. Raymer drove in the winning run with a walk off single, and she was also awarded the win, having only given up only four hits and zero earned runs in a complete game.
The second game did not fare as well for the Belles, with the Scots earning four hits and four runs in the first. Alma added two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings to raise the lead to 6-0. Saint Mary’s was unable get on the board in the second game of the doubleheader, with junior first baseman captain Caitlyn Migawa having the only hits of the day for the Belles with a pair of singles.
Saint Mary’s is back in action at Olivet on Saturday for a doubleheader conference matchup scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
