TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Siena Heights softball team defeated Dakota Wesleyan 10-0 in five innings before suffering the first setback of the season with a 5-3 loss to Benedictine (Kan.) on day two of the Tucson Invitational Games in Arizona. Kelsey Uhl led the Saints on the day with five hits total between both games. She was also the team's pitcher in game two.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Siena Heights 10, Dakota Wesleyan 0 (5 innings) | Game 2: Benedictine (Kan.) 5, Siena Heights 3
Location: Tuscon, Arizona (Lincoln Park Fields)
Records: Siena Heights (3-1), Dakota Wesleyan (2-6), Benedictine (2-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: SHU defeats Dakota Wesleyan, 10-0 (5 innings)
After a scoreless 1st-inning the Saints jumped on the Tigers in the second. Kelsey Uhl doubled to center field to lead off the top half of the inning. Kayla Boland singled to put runners on the corners before stealing second base during the next at bat. Taylor Mowery pounded in the first run on a single that scored Uhl to put the Saints up 1-0. Ashley Bearden doubled to bring in Boland for the 2-0 lead. Ashley Helmink tallied a three-run RBI double to left field that scored Lily Guerra, Sam Hill, and Bearden to increase the lead to 5-0. The final run in the inning was tallied on a double to left field by Racquel Ward that scored Helmink.
Hayley Turk doubled to left field to score Mowery to increase the SHU lead to 7-0 at the top of the 3rd-inning. Hill singled to center field to score Turk to end the scoring for the Saints in the inning.
Siena would put the game away in the 5th-inning with scores on a Ward single (Hill scored) and a Kristi Carlson single that scored Izzy Howay to complete the 10-0 final score of the game.
Game 2: Benedictine (Kan.) def. Siena Heights, 5-3
A homer to left field in the top half of the first gave Benedictine (Kan.) a 2-0 lead early. The Ravens would double that in the 3rd-inning on a two-run double to center field.
Kelsey Uhl doubled to left field to get on base for the Saints in the 4th-inning. Ashley Bearden would pinch run for Uhl and advance to third on a wild pitch before scoring during the next at-bat to cut the deficit to three runs (4-1). An error by the Raven shortstop would allow Kayla Boland to score two batters later cutting the deficit in half.
The next run would come in the top half of the 7th-inning when Benedictine would increase the lead back to three runs after a double to left field brought a runner home. With one final chance to knot things up or win the game, the Saints would manage to get one run off a Boland single to left field that scored Helmink, but a ground out on the next batter ended the game with the score of 5-3 in favor of the Ravens.
TOP SAINT HITTERS
= Sam Hill was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI to lead Siena in game one.
= Racquel Ward also tallied three hits out of four at-bats while recording two RBIs against the Tigers.
= Helmink had a game-high three RBIs in her one hit in the 10-0 win.
= Kelsey Uhl was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in game two.
= Kayla Boland tallied two hits and recorded both the Siena RBIs in the losing effort.
SAINT PITCHING
= Ward (W, 2-0) pitched all five innings against Dakota Wesleyan. She allowed two hits, no runs, and struck out five batters to earn the win. She reappeared in the circle in game two in relief as she pitched the last two innings and gave up two hits, a run, and one strikeout.
= Uhl (L, 1-1) tallied five innings pitched against Benedictine. She finished with three strikeouts while allowing four hits and three earned runs.
THE OPPOSITION HITTERS
= Claudia Nixon (1-for-2) and Adriana Thomason (1-for-2, 2B) were the only two Tigers to gain a hit against the Saints.
= Meghan Krantz (2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI) was the leading hitter for Benedictine.
= Tiffani Ray (1-for-4) tallied two RBIs with her homerun ball in the 1st-inning.
THE OPPOSITION PITCHING
= Alyson VanderPol (L, 0-1) pitched four innings for the Tigers in game one. She gave up 16 hits and nine earned runs while striking out three SHU batters.
= Erin Ziebarth (W) tallied 6.1 innings pitched for Benedictine. She struck out six Saints while allowing seven hits and two earned runs to earn the win.
= Alicia Armijo (Sv) registered a save for the Ravens.
UP NEXT
The Saints will face Waldorf (Iowa) and Dakota State (S.D) tomorrow. The Waldorf game is set to begin at 11:00 a.m., MST while the Dakota Stat contest begins at 1:30 p.m., MST.