NAMPA, Idaho – Saint Martin's Softball rallied from behind for two critical wins to maintain second place in a competitive GNAC with victories over Northwest Nazarene University.
Game One
The Saints (18-12, 10-6 GNAC) fell behind early, giving up the first run of the game in the third inning on a double down the left field line.
Northwest Nazarene (19-21, 9-9) added one more run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 2-0. Their final run came in the fifth inning after designated player Brittany Genuardi homered to center field.
The Saints' bats remained in check, not recording their first hit until the fifth inning and entered the seventh inning with no runs.
Sabrina Hicks and
Kim Nelson led-off the final inning with singles. After a strikeout,
Alyssa Slate loaded the bases on a bunt for
Lindsay Miller. L. Miller broke the scoreless drought with a RBI single to right field scoring Hicks. Pinch runner
Taylor Wolf scored on the sacrifice fly from
Lauren Diuco to cut the score to 3-2.
Mary Dettling walked to reload the bases with two outs for
Jackie Schmaeling. Schmaeling came through in the clutch with the go-ahead single, scoring two runs and clinching the 4-3 victory.
"Kim (Nelson) really settled down and threw a good game and we finally got the bats going at the end," said head coach
Rick Noren. "Jackie (Schmaeling) came through with a clutch hit to finish off a big inning."
Nelson (9-6) earned her ninth win of the season after a seven hit, three run complete game performance while striking out four.
Game Two
Just like the first game, Northwest Nazarene gained the early advantage, with both of their runs coming in the second inning on two singles.
The Saints capitalized on fielding error by the Crusaders in the fourth inning with Dettling and Diuco scoring and
Corrie Wilson reached base. Wilson later came around to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Saint Martin's added insurance runs in the fifth inning after Dettling doubled to center field, scoring L. Miller and Slate. Schmaeling's double down the right field line, scoring Dettling, proved to be the final nail in the coffin of the 6-2 victory.
Lauren Maley (5-2) stepped up inside the circle, going all seven innings, allowing two runs on nine hits while punching out two Crusaders.
"The second game was a little inconsistent but we had a couple of good innings and
Lauren Maley got stronger through the game for the win," said Noren. "
Lindsay Miller and
Lauren Diuco made a couple of great catches to save a couple of runs. These were two big conference wins against a good NNU team."
Up Next: The Saints will have an opportunity to sweep the four-game series against Northwest Nazarene tomorrow with first pitch at 11:00 a.m.
