Saint Mary's will focus on finally getting a first game win in Saturday afternoon's doubleheader at Albion College. The Belles have lost the opener of their last three doubleheaders, as well as in a single game 10-1 loss Monday against Bethel.
Belles coach Erin Sullivan has described this as a lack of preparedness for each team's style. This problem has remedied itself in the second game of the doubleheader, which the Belles have won in each contest.
The Belles (15-6 overall, 4-2 MIAA) have a chance to redeem themselves Saturday against the Britons (11-8, 3-5). Albion, which finished seventh out of eight teams in the MIAA last year, has made improvements this year.
Sullivan said she feels her team is up to the task.
"We are a better team than we have shown recently," said Sullivan. "We are looking to come out strong against Albion and show what we can do."
Albion is coming off a sweep of MIAA opponent Kalamazoo. In game one, pitcher Amber Hummel allowed only one hit in her third shutout of the season.
The Belles have had a solid season despite the recent losses, and Sullivan does not feel that they have lost any confidence.
"We just need to trust all of the hard work and effort we have put in over the year and go out and play hard," she said.
Junior Calli Davison (7-6) will start the first game, and senior McKenna Corrigan (8-0) will start the second. Along with pitching, Corrigan is one of the team's top offensive players, leading the team with three home runs and second in RBI with 23.
Junior Ashley Fusaro and sophomore Ashley Peterson, two-time reigning MIAA player of the week, respectively, lead the offense for Saint Mary's. Peterson leads the team in every major offensive category.
The Belles rank fourth in the MIAA heading into tomorrow's contest. The top four teams at the end of the season are invited to the postseason MIAA tournament.
