TUCSON, Ariz. – Down to her final strike,
Malia Pinder put the Saints on top with a three-run home to beat Washburn 4-3 in the opening game of the 2022 season, before SMU fell to Concordia in the second game.
In the season opener,
Britney Patrick got the offense started with an RBI single in the infield, driving in
Megan Convery.
Abby Runyon had silenced the Washburn's (1-5) bats until the bottom of the third, allowing two runs. Washburn struck again in the fourth, scoring on a sac fly to make it 3-1.
The Saints remained quiet until the seventh inning. Needing two to tie, the rally began with one out on a single from Patrick to short.
Olivia Schmidt doubled to right field to put the tying run in scoring position, and Patrick on third.
After a fly out, and Saint Martin's down to their final out, left fielder Pinder came to the plate. Taking the first two pitches for strikes, Pinder and Saints immediately found themselves down to their final strike. Pinder worked two balls and fouled off the 2-2 count before connecting on a blast to right field. The lefty turned on the pitch, and in one swing, put the Saints on top 4-3.
Chloe Leverington (1-0), who had pitched three shutout innings in relief, came in and got two groundouts, a single, and finished the game with a strike out to seal the opening game victory.
Pinder kept it going in the second game against #10 Concordia, leading the game off with a two-run home run in the first. In two at-bats, Pinder had drove in five runs. After Concordia added a run in the top of the second, Saint Martin's pounced right back.
Destiny Conerly and
Natalie Zender both drove in a run on RBI hits to center field, putting the Saints on top 4-1.
However, the lead did not last long as Concordia struck for eight in the third inning to break open the game. The Eagles added another four in the fourth.
Pinder drove in another two runs in the bottom of the fourth, bringing her total RBIs on the day to seven.
Saint Martin's returns to action tomorrow at 8:30 AM against Chico State, before facing San Francisco State at 11:00 AM. Live stats are available on smusaints.com.
