When Saint Mary's faces Goshen College this afternoon, the Belles will look to regain their dominance from earlier this season, when they went 9-1 during a spring break trip to Fort Myers, Fla.The numbers haven't been looking good for Saint Mary's lately after three straight losses - two of those by just one point. But the team hopes to reverse that trend against Goshen (5-16), which struggled against the Belles (14-6) last year.First-year head coach Linda Bontrager took Goshen to a 2-28 record in 2006. The Belles swept the Leafs last year 9-1 and 6-1.The Leafs are still struggling to find a way to win in the 2007 season. With six freshmen and only one senior, the team is young. And while Goshen has some experience in the bullpen, it has been little help.When the Leafs turned to sophomore Haly Williamson and junior Tera Brackman against Spring Arbor University on April 10, the two allowed 13 hits and 12 runs in the 12-4 loss.However, the Belles aren't counting the Leafs as a "w" on their schedule just yet. "We really want to win and we're not taking any team lightly because we haven't been playing as consistently as we thought we would," freshman second baseman Maureen Healy said. "We're not taking any team for granted."The Belles are facing some of their own struggles with a 1-5 MIAA conference record."We're taking it one game at a time and we're going to use our games today in preparation ... [and see] what we need to change for our next conference games," junior captain McKenna Corrigan said. "We're not even halfway done with conference play, so there's still a lot of ball to play."To take on the Leafs, the Belles will use their combination of power hitting and accurate pitching. Freshman Ashley Peterson, sophomore Kristin Amram and senior Sarah Miesle lead the Belles with batting averages of .433, .429 and .391, respectively.Amram has been a dominant force not only at the plate but also on the mound. The sophomore has pitched consistently to a 1.22 ERA. Sophomore pitcher Calli Davison is behind Amram with a 3.57 ERA, and the Belles are 9-2 in Davison's starts.Healy said beating Goshen can help the team get back on track. "Right now it doesn't matter what a team's record is. A win is a win," she said. "We know we can beat any team we've faced so far. ...We just have to be consistent in winning games. [Beating] Goshen would be a confidence booster but it wouldn't be anything that would shock us."Saint Mary's takes on Goshen College in Goshen, Ind. at 3:30 p.m. today.
