Following their spring break, the Saint Mary’s softball team continued their season with a double-header against Aurora University, where they took two losses.
Game One
Starting off the first inning, freshman second baseman Talia Jorgensen singled to start the game. Quickly following, sophomore transfer third baseman Laura Heim added a double of her own, advancing Jorgensen to third. Freshman shortstop Hunter St. Peter drove in Jorgensen and Heim with a two-RBI double during the following at-bat, putting the Belles up 2-0. Senior first baseman Alexis Rauch then added another double before junior Sam Mikita grounded out on fielder’s choice, driving St. Peter in to extend the lead to 3-0. A single from freshman left fielder Gia Schiavone, a sacrifice bunt from freshman catcher Lydia Hinga and a single from freshman pitcher Faith Dean allowed Rauch to score to make it 4-0. After the Belles’ strong start, Aurora responded in the bottom of the frame, scoring two runs to cut the deficit to two.
Neither team scored in the second inning, but in the third inning, singles from Mikitka and Schiavone put a runner in scoring position. In the next at-bat, Hinga reached first on a fielder's choice, but Mikitka was thrown out at third. Singles from Dean and junior center fielder Leah Zimmerman drove in Schiavone, putting the Belles ahead 5-2. Jorgensen singled after a forced error on the Aurora defense, allowing both Dean and Hinga to score and extend the lead to 7-2. The Belles held Aurora runless in the third, but after failing to score in the top half of the following frame, surrendered a five-run fourth to the Spartans, tying the game at 7-7. Neither team scored in the fifth inning before Aurora continued its offensive momentum in the sixth inning, adding two more runs to take its first lead of the game. With the Belles unable to respond, the Spartans took the 9-7 win in game one.
Game Two
Saint Mary’s started off the first inning hot as Jorgensen doubled before Heim's double drove her in to take the early 1-0 lead. St. Peter followed with a third-straight Belles double, allowing Heim to score and make it 2-0. In the bottom of the first, Aurora responded with two runs of its own to tie up the game. Neither team scored in the second or third innings, but in the fourth, the Spartans added on two runs for themselves to bring the score to 4-2. Aurora kept its offensive run going in the fifth with four more runs. They held onto the 8-2 lead in the sixth and seventh innings en route to their second victory over the Belles.
St. Peter led the team in the batter’s box on the day with a total of three doubles to power the Belles’ offense. In the circle, the Belles had three pitchers across the two games: Mikitka pitched a full six innings, Dean pitched 3.1 innings and sophomore transfer Sammy Schrader pitched 2.2 innings. Saint Mary's now prepares for its home opener against North Park on March 29, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
