Belles split doubleheader with Adrian
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
Using a loss to claim victory, the Saint Mary's softball team a doubleheader with Adrian College Saturday.
After dropping the afternoon game to the Bulldogs 8-5, the Belles came back and claimed a decisive 10-2 victory.
"In the second game we realized that we were a much better opponent and started to play like it," senior Cindy Traub said.
The doubleheader marked the MIAA season opener for both teams who now stand 1-1 in the MIAA.
The Belles (9-8) took an early 1-0 lead in the first game. However, an error-filled third allowed Adrian (5-15) to claim a six-run third that put Saint Mary's back by five.
"They were hitting the ball and we were kicking it around," Traub said. "We struggled defensively and they took advantage of our mistakes and scored a lot of runs."
A fourth-inning run by Saint Mary's just wasn't enough to bring home a victory.
In the fourth, Saint Mary's answered with four runs, to bring the game within one, but the Belles fell short in the last innings of the game.
"If it wasn't for [the third inning] we would have won," Traub said. "We came out in the fourth inning and tore it open, but it was a matter of too little too late."
Adrian added two more runs to its score before the game ended.
Junior Kristin Martin pitched seven innings during the game, giving up only three earned runs.
After the afternoon's loss, the Belles were hungry in the nightcap.
"It's always frustrating to lose the ones you know you could have won," Traub said. "We were all aware after the first game that we had not played to our potential. So it was a matter of coming out and playing how we knew in the second game."
Saint Mary's did just that.
Senior Anne Senger started the second game, giving up only one earned run for the evening.
The Belles took control offensively, scoring 10 runs to claim the 10-2 victory.
With a 2-1 lead going into the fifth inning, the Belles tore open their lead with six runs in the fifth. They tacked on two more runs during the last innings of the game.
Rachel Deer, Susan Kutz and Melissa Hayes each reached base three times during the weekend for the Belles. Deer claimed one double, while Kutz traveled to second twice. Martin claimed a homerun and a double on the weekend.
Saint Mary's will next face off against league competition Albion this Wednesday at 4 p.m. at home.
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 2, 2001
