The Belles have been clicking on all cylinders as of late, and they will look to continue that strong play this weekend when they visit Olivet Nazarene and Saint Xavier. Saint Mary's currently sits fifth in the MIAA with a 7-5 record. However, the two teams ahead of the Belles are 7-3 and 6-4, marks that Saint Mary's could feasibly pass in their last four contests. Coach Anna Walsh commented that the Belles are in a good position to make the postseason tournament for the first time ever, because of favorable league scheduling down the stretch, provided that they play well in their last four games.The Belles play their last remaining MIAA series against Kalamazoo, a team that currently sits at 0-8 in the league, while the other teams that Saint Mary's is competing with for positioning in the tournament have yet to play one another.This could open the door for Saint Mary's, provided that they can defeat Kalamazoo.Olivet Nazarene will present the Belles with their first non-league game since they dirtied their spikes on March 29 against Tri-State. The Belles had little trouble handling them, sweeping the doubleheader, but this weekend's games should present the Belles with much stiffer competition.Coach Welsh stated the weekend's games would allow the Belles to experiment with different pitching lineups because it is non-league play. While the Belles are confident that they can win provided they play as well as they did against Hope. Olivet Nazarene and Saint Xavier are top-level opponents, and coach Welsh commented that they could be the toughest two doubleheaders of the season.The Belles play Saturday against Olivet Nazarene at 1 p.m. and on Sunday against Saint Xavier at 12 p.m.
