LACEY, Wash. – Saint Martin's won both ends of a doubleheader that had a little bit of everything, dominant pitching, great hitting, spectacular fielding and even some hail to keep the Saints faithful on their toes and under their umbrellas.
In game one, the Saints (21-14, 9-3) offense exploded in the sixth inning to propel them to a win in game three of their series against Central Washington (16-20, 7-9).
Tia Ridings had a strong bid for a no-hitter through five innings but Mother Nature had other plans as the Wildcats got their first run and hit after a lengthy weather delay caused by a mix of rain and hail.
The first game of the day was a pitching masterclass, as both teams' pitchers were locked in and dominant for five innings. Ridings was the first to surrender a run in the sixth giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead late in the game.
Malia Pinder lit the fuse with a leadoff double and the next batter,
Kylee Vanderbout promptly sent her home with another double to tie up the game. From here the Saints offense erupted and scored seven runs in the sixth inning.
CWU didn't go down without a fight, putting runners in scoring position before
Chloe Leverington took over for Ridings and shut the door on the Wildcats' comeback attempt to give SMU a 7-2 win in the opener.
In the second game, the Wildcats got going early scoring four runs in the third inning before
Chloe Leverington came in to replace
Abby Runyon in the circle.
The Saints scored a run off a walk in the fourth inning before
Malia Pinder hit a two-RBI double that tied up the game and brought home
Devyn Connolly and
Shay Lopes.
Megan Convery scored on a throwing error to give SMU their first lead of the night.
CWU scored a run in the top of the sixth to tie the game up 5-5 before giving up two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth to give Saint Martin's the lead back before heading into the final inning.
Kylee Vanderbout showed her fielding prowess by making two spectacular diving plays for the first two outs of the inning. The Wildcats managed to bring the go-ahead run to the plate and put some pressure on the Saints but Leverington induced a pop up that sealed the win for SMU.
The Saints will be on the road facing Montana State Billings next weekend on Friday, April 15th at 12 PM and 2 PM and Saturday, April 16th at 11 AM and 1 PM.
