ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights softball team recorded two wins over Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) foe Michigan-Dearborn on Monday afternoon. The Saints won game one 2-1 in a walk-off before finishing the day with a 15-8 win in the final game. Ashley Helmink recorded a hit in game one and three in game two to push her hit streak to 18 straight games.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Siena Heights 2, UM-Dearborn 1 | Game 2: Siena Heights 15, UM-Dearborn 8
Location: Adrian, Michigan (Christensen Memorial Softball Field)
Records: Siena Heights (19-7, 4-0 WHAC), UM-Dearborn (12-8, 2-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Siena Heights def. Mich.-Dearborn 2-1
Ashley Helmink put the Saints on the board after three scoreless innings with a one-run homer to left center.
Michigan-Dearborn tied things in the 7th-inning with a single to right field that scored a run. Hayley Turk doubled to get into scoring position. She was brought home when Kristi Carlson hit a double to left center to earn the walk-off win.
Game 2: Siena Heights def. Mich.-Dearborn 15-8
The Wolverines took an early 1-0 lead in the 1st-inning with a double down the left-field line.
Three errors by UM-Dearborn put Kayla Boland on third and Turk on second base. Boland beat out the throw at the plate to score to tie things up on the next play. A triple by Lily Guerra scored Taylor Mowery and Turk to give the Saints a 3-1 lead. Helmink drilled a double to left center to score Guerra. Racquel Ward doubled to right center to score Helmink to give Siena a 5-1 lead.
Back-to-back home runs tallied five runs for Michigan-Dearborn and allowed the team to recapture the lead 6-5. The lead was extended to 7-5 after a Saint throwing error in the 4th-inning.
Helmink doubled and Ward hit a single to give SHU runners on the corners. Kelsey Uhl singled to left center to score Helmink to bring the Saints within one run of tying. Boland singled to tie things up at seven runs. Carlson singled two batters later to score both Boland and Uhl to retake the lead, 8-7.
A runner scored for the Wolverines in the 6th-inning to tie the score at eight. The Saints took control of the game in the 6th-inning with six runs to put the game away. Turk singled to score Ashley Bearden to give Siena its final lead of the game. Two errors by UM-Dearborn brought two SHU runners home. Helmink hit a triple to center field to score three more runs.
TOP SAINT HITTERS
• Sam Hill, Lily Guerra, Ashley Helmink, Racquel Ward, Kelsey Uhl, Hayley Turk, and Kristi Carlson each tallied a hit in the first game.
• Helmink was 3-for-5 in game two with four RBIs and scored two runs.
• Ward, Uhl, and Turk each finished with two hits.
• Carlson had three RBIs in the nightcap.
• Guerra finished game two with two RBIs.
SAINT PITCHING
• Racquel Ward (W, 10-3) earned a win in both games. She pitched all seven innings of game one. She allowed five hits and one earned run while striking out five batters. She pitched the final five innings of game two with five hits and an earned run while adding four more strikeouts to her total on the day.
THE OPPOSITION HITTERS
• Amy Jarrett earned the only RBI for the Wolverines in game one.
• Madelin Skene and Amy Jarrett led the team with three hits. Skene tied a game-high four RBIs in game two.
• Leah Oldham had two hits, two RBIs, and a run.
THE OPPOSITION PITCHING
• Ashlynn Henderson started game one with 5.1 innings pitched. She allowed four hits and an earned run while striking out one Saint batter.
• Erin McCune started in game two. She pitched 3.1 innings while allowing seven hits, two earned runs, and one strikeout.
• Samantha Torongeau (L, 1-3) got the loss in game two after giving up four hits and two earned runs.
UP NEXT
The Saints travel to face Northwestern Ohio on Wednesday, April 3 in a WHAC doubleheader. Game one is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start time.
