TUCSON, ARIZONA -- The Siena Heights softball team tallied two more notches in the win column on day four of competition in the Tucson Invitational Games. Kayla Boland led the Saints with four hits in seven at-bats on the afternoon.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Siena Heights 4, Northwestern College (Iowa) 1 | Game 2: Siena Heights 10, Dakota Wesleyan 0 (5 innings)
Location: Tucson, Arizona (Lincoln Park Field 8)
Records: Siena Heights (7-1), Northwestern (Iowa) (4-6), Dakota Wesleyan (3-12)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Siena Heights def. Northwestern (Iowa), 4-1
Neither team scored until the 4th-inning when the Red Raiders brought a run in on a double to right center for the 1-0 lead.
Ashley Helmink hit a triple to right field to lead off the bottom half of the 5th-inning for the Saints. Hayley Turk was walked, putting runners on the corners. A Northwestern error allowed Vanessa Wandrie to reach first and score Helmink to tie the game at one.
Siena put three more runs on the board in the 6th-inning. The first came on an RBI-double by Helmink that scored Taylor Mowery and gave the Saints their first lead of the game (2-1). Lauren Valdez used an RBI-single to center field by Kayla Boland to score and double the lead for SHU (2-1). Jordan Bianchi hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Helmink and increased the Siena lead to three runs (4-1).
Game 2: Siena Heights def. Dakota Wesleyan, 10-0 (5 innings)
Kayla Boland singled to the pitcher to start the 2nd-inning for Siena. An error by the Tigers would put Jordan Bianchi on first base on her sacrifice bunt that moved Boland to scoring position. Kristi Carlson walked to load the bases before Sam Hill singled to left center field and scored Bianchi and Boland to give the Saints a 2-0 lead. Lily Guerra singled down the left field line to score Carlson and the score would move to 3-0 in favor of SHU.
With two runners on base in the 3rd-inning, Carlson singled to right to load the bases. Sam Hill walked and Bianchi scored from third base to bring the score to 4-0. Guerra hit a sacrifice fly to center that moved Hill to second, Carlson to third, and scored Mowery on the tag. Kelsey Uhl finished the scoring in the inning with a two RBI-single that increased the Saint lead to 7-0.
Izzy Howay singled up the middle in the 5th-inning to bring Hill to home plate. Abriana Hicks recorded an RBI fielder's choice that moved Uhl to third and scored Howay. Boland singled to center field to allow Uhl to cross home plate and tally the final run of the game.
TOP SAINT HITTERS
= Ashley Helmink was 2-for-3 against Northwestern College. She scored two runs and had an RBI to lead the Saints offense.
= Lily Guerra (1-3), Kelsey Uhl (1-3), Kayla Boland (1-3), and Hayley Turk (1-2) each tallied a run in the 4-1 win over the Red Raiders.
= Kayla Boland had three hits in four at-bats against the Tigers. She also crossed home plate once and drove in a run as well.
= Kelsey Uhl finished game two with two hits and two RBIs. She also scored a run in the game.
SAINT PITCHING
= Racquel Ward (W, 4-0) pitched all seven innings in the win over Northwestern College. She allowed just three hits and one run while striking out three Red Raiders.
= Kelsey Uhl (W, 3-1) started in the circle for the Saints in game two. She allowed three hits and struck out three Dakota Wesleyan batters.
THE OPPOSITION HITTING
= Amber Schubert tallied a hit and Northwestern College's only RBI in the game.
= Bri Giordano and Vanessa Gomez each finished game one with a hit.
= Claudia Nixon, Devany Farris, and Julia Kelley each had a hit for the Tigers in the losing effort.
OPPOSITION PITCHING
= Emma Schnell (L) pitched all six innings for the Red Raiders. She allowed six hits and three earned runs while striking out two Saints.
= Devany Farris (L, 0-4) allowed eight hits and six earned runs in four innings pitched for Dakota Wesleyan.
UP NEXT
The Saints will face #7 Indiana Wesleyan and Mt. Marty tomorrow. Game one versus IWU is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. MST while game two is set for a first pitch of 11:00 a.m. MST.