Kicking off its season, the Saint Mary’s softball team made its way to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. There, it competed in a two-day tournament, playing four games. The team finished 2-2, splitting two series against Earlham and Elmhurst University respectively.
Day one
The Belles faced off against Earlham first on Friday at 10:30 a.m. They took the high-scoring 12-11 win as both teams competed to stay on top throughout the game. The Belles saw the plate first thanks to junior catcher and outfielder Allie Moss, who doubled to center field and stole home, giving the Belles a 1-0 lead. The Belles kept their offense going into the second inning as they put up four more runs matched with equally strong defense on the back end, holding Earlham to only one run. A big contribution to these runs was freshman center fielder Isabelle Hochmuth, who, in her college debut, knocked the ball over the right field fence for her first college home run. With five runs in the third, the Belles got out to a comfortable 10-5 lead. While there was no scoring in the fourth, Earlham scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score at 10-10. The Belles responded with two runs at the top of the sixth, and with Earlham only able to add on run in the bottom of the seventh, Saint Mary’s took the close 12-11 win.
Hochmuth led the Belles on offense with four RBIs and a home run. Freshman midfielder and outfielder Ella Kucala followed with three RBIs. In the circle, junior Sammy Schrader and sophomore Ashlyn Yeo both appeared for the Belles. Yeo pitched three innings and had two strikeouts, while Schrader rounded out the game pitching four innings with no strikeouts.
In their second Friday game against Elmhurst, both teams presented a strong defense early on. The score was tied 0-0 for the first two innings. Elmhurst broke through the Belles’ defense in the top of the third to score two runs. Then, Saint Mary’s retaliated in the latter, putting up four runs of its own. Elmhurst couldn’t find their way around the bases in the top of the fourth, but the Belles were able to add on another run to hold the 5-2 lead. The game changer came in the fifth inning, where Elmhurst added on four runs to pull ahead 6-5. The Belles were unable to put any more runs on the board, giving Elmhurst the 6-5 win.
Moss led the Belles offensively with two runs and two hits and went 2-for-3 at the plate. Hochmuth went 1-for-4 at the plate but contributed a hit and two RBIs. Yeo pitched the majority of the game, pitching six innings while Schrader came in relief in the seventh inning to finish the game.
Day two
The Belles faced off against Earlham for the second time in the tournament Saturday and suffered a 13-4 loss. Earlham came out strong in the first inning, putting up three runs in the first and five more in the second. Saint Mary’s was only able to add on one run in the bottom half of the second inning, making the score 8-1. Earlham added one more in the third to extend the margin to 9-1. Saint Mary’s added on two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to close the score to 9-4. Responding again, Earlham found a way through the Belles’ defense to add one more run in the sixth inning and three in the seventh to take the final win 13-4.
Senior pitcher Sam Mikitka and Hochmuth both doubled at the plate while sophomore midfielder Hunter St. Peter and freshman infielder Molly Ryan both tripled. Mikitka started in the circle for the Belles, pitching two innings until Yeo came in to pitch the remaining five and struck out one batter.
The Belles turned the tables in the second Saturday game against Elmhurst, emerging victorious with an 8-3 win. Saint Mary’s started strong as it added on five runs in the first thanks to a notable triple from sophomore second baseman and outfielder Talia Jorgensen. The base hit drove in Moss and sophomore outfielder and middle fielder Gia Schiavone. The Belles’ defense bounced back from their morning struggles, allowing Elmhurst three runs at the bottom of the first inning, then turning it up a notch. The two teams stepped up the defensive intensity with the help of quality pitching as neither team scored in the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth inning. The Belles were finally able to break the silence at the top of the seventh inning, adding on the final three runs to bring the total to 8-3. Elmhurst couldn’t respond in the latter half of inning, and the Belles finished their weekend with a win.
Mikitka started in the circle and stayed in the entire seven innings of the game. While facing some trouble in the first, she later found her groove, allowing only four hits and struck out one batter. On offense, Jorgensen led the Belles with a triple, two RBIs and two runs.
The Belles are now 2-2 on the season and will prepare to travel to Goshen on March 3 for a rescheduled doubleheader. Game one is at 3 p.m., with game two to follow at 5 p.m.
