St. Mary’s battles back to score 14 runs in game two to gain a split with St. Edwards University
St. Edwards (24-17, 13-3) dominated St. Mary’s (20-23, 12-4) by a score of 10-1 in game one of a doubleheader Saturday and then found themselves on the losing end in the second game as the Rattlers exploded for 14 runs for a 14-10 win in game two .
St. Edward’s Junior Lisa Paul was red hot in game one as she blasted a two-run home run in the first inning and then added an RBI in the second inning.
Teammate Stacy Giles sent a shot over the left field fence for a second inning three run homer and by the end of the inning St. Marys found themselves down 6-0.
In the early going St. Mary’s was unable to find any success on offense and the Hilltoppers weren’t letting up. Miranda Yeager did her part by smashing her first home run of the year in the third inning to push the St .Edwards lead out to 7-0.
Paul struck again in the sixth inning when she picked up another RBI on a double before Giles closed out the game with a two-run home run to left.
St. Edward’s Paige Sandahl was phenomenal as she gave up just one run on one hit while walking five. She had seven strike outs over her 6 strong innings of work. Sandahl was the Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Week the last two weeks.
In game two St. Mary’s came out swinging some hot bats which allowed them to come away with a 14-10 win.. They took advantage of five St. Edwards errors in the second inning as they scored six runs in the frame. Sade Moore picked up an RBI and Lia Provence had triple to pick up two RBIs.
The Hilltoppers wasted no time getting back into the game as they took the lead in the bottom half of the inning with seven runs of their own. Courtney Lavender got things going with a single before Lana Jo Hairston and Kelsey Cogdell connected for RBI singles. Meagen Bailey and Lavender also had two-RBI singles. The offensive barrage led to a 7-6 lead for the Hilltoppers.
The Rattlers went back out in front in the third inning on a Heather Monroe home run that resulted in two St. Mary runs. They built on their lead in the fifth inning as they picked up four more run. Provence contributed a two-run double in the inning and the Hilltoppers had another error that helped St. Mary’s build their 12-7 lead.
Both teams stayed hot at the plate as they continued to score runs over the next several innings. In the seventh inning the Hilltoppers managed to load the bases but St. Mary’s was able to get a ground out to end the game and preserve the 14-10 win.
