TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Siena Heights softball team started the 2019 campaign with wins over Presentation (S.D) and #24 Jamestown (N.D) in Tucson, Arizona. Sam Hill led the Saints at the plate batting 5-for-6 (.833) on the day.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Siena Heights 11, Presentation 3 Game 2: Siena Heights 9, Jamestown 1 (5-innings)
Location: Tucson, Arizona (Lincoln Park Fields)
Records: Siena Heights (2-0), Presentation (1-8), Jamestown (7-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Siena def. Presentation, 11-3
Siena left one on base in the top of the 1st-inning before surrendering its first run on defense in the bottom half. With one out and a runner on first an error by the Saints would allow Presentation to reach first base and then advance on the throw, scoring Bibiana Villeda to give the Saints from South Dakota a 1-0 lead.
Presentation took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd-inning after Villeda singled to left field scoring Celia Cerezo. A dropped fly ball during the next at-bat, scored Cortni Mendoza to bring the score to 3-0, Presentation.
Lily Guerra doubled to left field to lead off the third for Siena. Kayla Boland singled to third, moving Guerra to third. Sam Hill scored Guerra with a single to cut the deficit to 3-1. Two batters later, Racquel Ward doubled to right field, scoring both Ashley Helmink and Sam Hill to tie things up at three.
The Saints took control in the 5th-inning. Helmink doubled to left field to score Boland to gain the first lead of the game for Siena, 4-3. Ward singled and advanced to second on the throw as Helmink scored. Kristi Carlson singled to left field to score Ward to increase the SHU lead to 6-3.
Boland doubled to left field and Hill singled and advanced on the throw as Boland scored. Helmink tripled to center field to score Hill (8-3). Another Presentation error would score Helmink before ending the scoring for the Saints in the 6th-inning.
Boland hit a sacrifice fly to score Vanessa Wandrie to put Siena up 10-3. Hill ended the scoring for the Saints with a single that scored Alyssa Marshall.
Game 2: Siena def. Jamestown, 9-1 (5 innings)
Neither team could score until the bottom of the 3rd-inning when Sam Hill walked to lead off the half inning for the Saints. Lily Guerra reached first on an error on a sacrifice bunt by the second baseman, Hill advanced to second. Another error by the Jimmies, this time by the pitcher, on a sacrifice bunt allowed Helmink to reach first and load the bases. A wild pitch scored Hill and advanced Helmink to second and Guerra to third. A throwing error scored Helmink and Guerra to put Siena Heights up 3-0.
Jamestown scored in the 4th-inning off a single to center field, their lone hit of the game, to cut the Saint lead to two runs.
Siena put the game away in the 5th-inning. Hill singled to lead off the half inning for the Saints. She advanced to second via a wild pitch. Another defensive error put Helmink on first and Hill on third. Racquel Ward blasted a homerun over the right field wall to tally three more runs for the Saints and put the score at 6-1. An error by the Jimmies third basemen would score Kayla Boland and Izzy Howay to put the Saints one run away from ending the game with the run-rule. Vanessa Wandrie would deliver that run three batters later when she singled up the middle to score Taylor Mowery to end the game with a 9-1 score in favor of the Saints.
SAINTS BATTERS
+ Sam Hill was 3-for-4 in the game against Presentation. She scored two runs and had three RBIs and was walked once in the game. She was 2-for-2 against Jamestown while also tallying another walk.
+ Kelsey Uhl was 2-for-2 in the first game of the day. She finished the day 3-for-5 on the day.
+ Ashley Helmink finished 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBIs, a double, and a triple against Presentation. She scored twice more against Jamestown.
+ Kayla Boland hit a double and two singles in three at-bats whle scoring two runs and an RBI in the first game. She scored a run to help in the win over Jamestown at the end of the day.
+ Taylor Mowery hit a double and scored a run in the game against the Jimmies.
+ Vanessa Wandrie hit the game-ending RBI single in game two to bring the Saints to 2-0 on the season.
SAINT PITCHERS
+ Racquel Ward (W, 1-0) pitched all seven innings. She allowed five hits and two earned runs while striking out five batters to earn her first win of the season.
+ Kelsey Uhl (W, 1-0) allowed only one hit and struck out two in her five-inning win.
THE OPPOSITION HITTING
+ Bibiana Villeda was 3-for-3 to lead Presentation in the loss. She tallied a run , a walk, and an RBI.
+ Meghan Ramage tallied the only hit for Jamestown, an RBI single.
THE OPPOSITION PITCHING
+ Bibiana Villeda (L, 1-5) pitched all seven innings. She allowed 13 hits and seven earned runs while striking out three Saint batters.
+ Katie Merchant (L, 3-3) pitched 4.1 innings. She allowed four hits and three earned runs. She struck out seven batters and walked three in the losing effort.
UP NEXT
The Saints continues in Tucson tomorrow with games against Dakota Wesleyan and Benedictine (Kan.). The game against Dakota Wesleyan is scheduled for a first pitch of 11:00 a.m. MST; the game against Benedictine (Kan.) is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. MST.