Saint Mary’s softball six-game winning streak slammed into a brick wall on Thursday afternoon at Trine. The Belles lost 8-0 and 15-0 in a pair of five-inning games against the fourth-ranked team in the country. Entering the final 10 days of the regular season, the Belles are 8-14 overall and 4-4 in MIAA play.
The Belles recorded just three hits across 10 innings of action at Trine, whose pitching gave Saint Mary’s fits. Trine’s baserunning did the same, evidenced by a stolen base count of eight across both games of the doubleheader.
In the first game, senior right-hander Libby Bierbaum started in the circle for the Belles. She allowed five runs on six hits across four innings, taking her seventh loss of the season. Her only walk of the game brought in Trine’s first run with the bases loaded in the second.
After Bierbaum escaped further damage in that inning, the Thunder picked up their onslaught with four runs in the fourth inning. Scarlett Elliott, Ellie Trine and Karley Trine delivered three consecutive run-scoring hits, culminating with an RBI triple.
On the other side, Trine starting pitcher Alexis Michon finished up five shutout innings in the circle. En route to her 11th win of the season, she punched out nine Belles, allowing only one hit and one walk. Michon filled up the zone all day, throwing strikes on 46 of her 63 pitches.
The Trine offense would shorten her day with a three-run fifth inning that ended the game by run rule. Macy Rocha, who tagged three hits in the game, clubbed a two-run home run to left-center field that expanded Trine’s lead to 7-0. Four batters later, Elliott’s second RBI single brought the game to its end.
Game two went no better for the Belles, who committed three errors, walked six batters and allowed 14 hits in another five-inning loss. Senior right-hander Caitlin Traxler started in the circle for Saint Mary’s, conceding seven runs in two innings for her third loss of the year. Freshman right-hander Mary Charniak followed her out of the bullpen, pitching three innings eight runs allowed — six of them earned.
After Traxler held the Thunder scoreless in the first inning, Trine opened the scoring as the visiting team with three runs in the second. Meanwhile, Debbie Hill began her dazzling day as a two-way player, retiring each of the first six Belles she faced as part of her three no-hit innings.
In the third, Hill accomplished a rare feat at the plate, launching two home runs in the same inning. She first went deep to left field for a two-run shot, extending the Trine lead to 5-0. Emma Beyer later singled in two runs before scoring herself on a double from Ellie Trine. After two more runs scored on a single and stolen base, Hill homered again, going out to right field for a two-run long ball. Talisa Chafey would add one more RBI single for good measure, completing a 10-run inning that put Trine ahead 13-0.
While the Thunder added additional runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Alex Rodriguez entered in the circle to finalize Trine’s shutout. She struck out a trio of Belles in two frames, getting Trine to another win and a 28-3 record on the season.
Up next, the Belles will play four consecutive home games this week with a Tuesday doubleheader against Hope and a Thursday doubleheader against Adrian.
