On Friday evening, Saint Mary’s softball faced off against Kalamazoo College in a doubleheader at home. The games were the MIAA openers for the Belles, and they fell in the first contest 4-0 and the second 6-3. With these losses, the Belles move to 9-13 overall on the season and 0-2 in the MIAA.
Game 1
Game 1 started at 7 p.m. Friday. At the top of the first inning, Kalamazoo managed to get the first run on the board through a sacrifice fly to the outfield. Saint Mary’s was unable to match the first run and trailed 1-0 after a turn at bat in the bottom of the inning. At the top of the second, Kalamazoo added three more runs onto the board to take a 4-0 lead. Neither team scored in the next five innings, bringing the final to 4-0 Kalamazoo.
The Kalamazoo defense proved difficult to crack throughout the first game for the Belles. On offense, four Belles tallied a hit including junior outfielder and captain Allie Moss, freshman infielder Maggie Voliva, senior pitcher, first baseman and captain Sam Mikitka and sophomore catcher Lydia Hinga.
On the mound, sophomore pitcher and outfielder Ashlyn Yeo started for the Belles. Yeo pitched two innings allowing four runs off three hits before Mikitka took over to finish out the game throwing a five-inning shutout. Yeo ultimately took the loss, and her record is now 3-5 on the season.
Game 2
The second contest started at 9 p.m. The first inning was silent for both teams, but at the top of the second the Belles offense began a series of hits as freshman outfielder Isabelle Hochmuth singled. Mikitka followed using a Kalamazoo error to reach first base, which also allowed Hochmuth to advance to third base. Sophomore first baseman Emma Luther then singled up the middle to give the Belles the first lead of the series, 1-0. The Hornets responded with a single run in each of the next four innings and held a 4-1 lead with the defense holding the Belles scoreless. In the sixth inning, the Hornets added on two more runs to take the 6-1 lead. In the top of the seventh, the Belles fought back with two more runs, but it was not enough to overcome the Hornets. Kalamazoo took the 6-3 win.
This second game looked stronger for the Belles offensively despite the loss. Luther tallied two hits, Moss tallied one, sophomore second baseman Talia Jorgensen added one hit and sophomore third baseman Maddi Duncan added one hit.
On the mound for the Belles, sophomore pitcher Aubrey Zachary made her first career appearance at Saint Mary’s. The transfer from Purdue Fort Wayne pitched three innings, allowing two runs off four hits and striking out two Kalamazoo players. Junior pitcher and outfielder Sammy Schrader came in relief and pitched one and a half innings before Mikitka rounded out the game allowing two runs off four hits.
Following this home doubleheader, the Belles will prepare for a pair of road contests against Calvin on April 8 followed by Manchester on April 9.
