Saint Mary's dropped both games of a doubleheader Tuesday against conference leader Calvin College. The Belles never led on the afternoon, falling 6-3 and 11-2."I thought we played very well; we had goals and we achieved them, but we couldn't do the little things when it mattered," Belle Sarah Miesle said. The losses were the 12th and 13th in a row for the struggling squad, and the team's last win came over a month ago - on March 10 against Emmanuel College. The Belles' record now stands at 5-16 overall and 0-8 in the MIAA conference.In the first game, Saint Mary's kept the game close, but inconsistent play once again kept the victory just out of reach. After holding Calvin scoreless for three innings, the Belles were one out away from taking the game into the fifth inning tied at zero. But Knight Laurel Sands reached base on an error by McKenna Corrigan and Lea Bareman scored from second base. Then, on the strength of two more two-out hits, the Knights pushed a pair of runs across to take a 3-0 lead. Without the two-out error, the Belles would have gone back into the dugout tied and looking to take the lead. Instead, they had to battle from behind like they have many times this season.But battle they did, responding in the top of the fifth with two runs. After Sarah Miesle and Audrey Gajor singled, Laura Heline doubled to center field to bring home both base runners."We've had opportunities to win in every game we've been in," Miesle said. This was no exception, as the Belles were within one, but they could not get closer. Calvin scored three runs in the next two innings and eventually took the game 6-3.In the second game, Saint Mary's once again stayed close early, but in the top of the third the Knights broke the game open with six runs on four hits. Bel-les' pitcher McKenna Corrigan also issued two walks in the inning, and the team once again found itself in a hole too deep to escape. In the bottom of the inning, Miesle connected for the Belles' only hit of the game, doubling to center to score Meghan Marenkovic, who had reached base on a walk. Calvin scored three out of the next four times they were up to bat, and the final score was 11-2.The losses drop Saint Mary's to 0-8 in the MIAA conference, but the Belles return home hopeful to improve their record again conference foe Hope College. "I think we're playing good ball ... we're gonna get some breaks one of these days," said a confident Miesle. The game will start at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Saint Mary's Softball Diamond.
