ANGOLA, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Softball fell in their mid-week doubleheader with second-ranked Trine University on Thursday, falling 17-2 in game one and 6-3 in game two. The Belles fall to 13-17 (2-6 MIAA) while the Thunder improve to 21-1 (6-0 MIAA).
Game One
Both teams were held scoreless in the first two innings while sophomore Aubrey Zachary (Granger, IN) got herself out of a two-on with no-outs situation by sitting down three straight batters in the second. The fourth highest scoring offense in the country came alive for Trine. The Thunder put up nine runs in the top of the third inning before following that up with five more in the fourth to get out to a 14-0 lead after three and a half innings.
The Saint Mary's offense got a little momentum going in the bottom of the fourth inning. After a leadoff double for sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN), sophomore Gia Schiavone (Poland, OH) followed that up with a double of her own to bring Jorgensen in to score the first run of the game for the Belles. After a pitching change and back-to-back outs, sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI) hit a two out RBI single back up the middle to score Schiavone.
Trine added three more runs in the top of the fifth before sitting Saint Mary's down with two runners left on base to close out game one with a 17-2 win.
Five different Belles tallied a hit each while Jorgensen and Schiavone both doubled. Schiavone and St. Peter both recorded RBIs for the Belles in the first game.
In the circle, Zachary was the pitcher of record, throwing two plus innings of work, allowing six runs on six hits and striking out three batters. Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) was the first out of the pen for the Belles, throwing one and a third innings, allowing seven runs on five hits. Junior Sammy Schrader (Romeoville, IL) finished off the game for Saint Mary's, throwing one and two thirds innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
Game Two
Trine continued their momentum from game one into game two as they put up four runs in the first inning and two in the second to take an early 6-0 lead.
Saint Mary's got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning as freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) launched a two out home run to left center field for her first hit of the day.
Zachary came into the game to pitch in the bottom of the third inning and promptly shut the Thunder offense down and keeping them scoreless in their final four at bats.
The Belles offense kept going as junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) reached on a one out single to right field. Hochmuth then stepped back up to bat with two outs and a runner on second base, and launched her second home run of the day and seventh of the season. This would cut the Thunder lead to just three. The Belles would be shut down in the top of the seventh inning as Trine closed out their sweep with a 6-3 win.
Hochmuth led the team with two hits in the game, both being long home runs. Her sixth and seventh home runs of the season ties her for fourth all-time in program history for home runs in a season. Two other Belles tallied hits while Hochmuth also drove in all three runs.
In the circle, senior Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) was the pitcher of record, throwing two innings and allowing six runs, five earned, on six hits. Zachary came in relief and threw four shutout innings, allowing four hits while striking out two batters.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's is back on the road on Saturday as they make a trip north to Holland, MI to take on Hope College for a doubleheader beginning at 1pm. The Belles then return home on Monday, April 20, to host Anderson University for their final non-conference matchup of the season, starting at 3pm.
