The Belles swept their Sunday doubleheader against Dominican in Rosemont, Ill., rallying twice to earn their fifth and sixth consecutive wins by scores of 5-3 and 5-2.
In the first game, the Belles (8-4) went down early, 2-1. The momentum shifted in the top of the fourth, however, when Saint Mary’s rallied to score three runs, starting with a double from sophomore first baseman Jillian Busfield that plated the tying run. Sophomore second baseman Angela Dainelli then put the Belles ahead to stay with a single, which brought home two more runs.
Dominican (8-6) got back one run in the bottom of the fourth, but Dainelli opened the fifth inning with a walk and came around to score the game’s final run on a single by junior outfielder Nina Vlahiotis.
Along with those those well-timed hits, the Belles rode senior pitcher Callie Selner’s arm to the two-run victory. Selner pitched the entire game and racked up four strikeouts for her fifth win of the season.
The Belles’ pitching stayed strong in the second game, as sophomore Sarah Burke also tossed a complete game for a win, which boosted her record to 3-2.
Belles’ coach Kelli Zache said she was pleased with her team’s pitching performance over the weekend.
“I though the pitching was solid,” Zache said. “In preparing for the game, I’d told them that these would be the toughest hitters we’ve faced thus far, and both pitchers had great composure and really brought their game.”
Selner chipped in at the plate in the second game, going 3-4 with three doubles. Burke added a double to go with her dominance on the mound, which was a pleasant, according to Zache.
“That was her first double, which was great to see,” Zache said.
Zache said she was also pleased with the play of sophomore outfielder Moranda Hegedus in the day’s second game.
“Moranda did well,” Zache said. “I mean she nearly had a cycle. The whole team hit well, but it was great to see players like Moranda really step up.”
Hegedus’ pivotal hit came in the fifth inning with the Belles again down 2-1. Hegedus laced a line drive, which scored two runs as she raced all the way to third. She then tallied the Belles’ fourth run of the game on a groundout. Dainelli would score the game’s final run on another groundout in the sixth after a single and stolen base.
Dominican managed only five runs in the two games combined, which Zache said made her optimistic about her team’s level of play.
“Dominican is a solid team and we knew they’d be stiff competition,” Zache said. “I think half their lineup hits over .300, so I was really happy with the way we came together. We made adjustments. We knew we were going to have to have great composure and we did.”
The Belles will try to continue their winning streak at Manchester on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
