The Saint Mary’s softball team split with one win and one loss this past Tuesday against North Park. The Belles lost the first game 4-2 and won the second game 4-1 against the Vikings.
Game One
Senior Libby Bierbaum pitched a complete game for the Belles. The right-hander had a total of eight hits and four runs (three of which were earned) against her while totaling two strikeouts.
Offensively, neither team scored in the first inning, but both teams put a run on the board in the second inning. There were also no runs scored in the third or fourth inning. The Belles added on another run for themselves in the top of the fifth inning, but the Vikings were quick to respond, adding three more runs to make the score 4-2.
Junior left fielder Alexis Rauch went 2-for-3 in the game with a sacrifice, graduate second baseman Caitlin Traxler went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, sophomore right fielder Leah Zimmerman added a double, Bierbaum drove in a run for the Belles, and senior center fielder Mckenna Shoupe and freshman shortstop Mary Charniak each had a hit and scored a run themselves.
Game 2
Traxler started in the cricle for the Belles, pitching another complete game. Traxler totaled four hits and one earned run with two strikeouts.
The Belles jumped ahead in the first inning, scoring one run. Neither team scored in the second or third inning, but North Park added on a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Belles responded by adding on three more runs in the top of the fifth. Neither team scored in the sixth or seventh inning, making the final score 4-1 in favor of the Belles.
Rauch had a 2-for-3 effort, adding an RBI, while graduate second baseman Rylee Hershberger went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Charniak added on a double and scored once herself, Shoupe added a hit and a run herself, senior first baseman McKenna Myers added a hit and freshman right fielder Madi Ingolia added a run.
The Belles’ next games against Franklin, originially scheduled for Wednesday, have been postponed to April 2 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
