ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights softball team earned two more wins in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play with an 11-3 (5 innings) and a 4-2 win over Cornerstone on Saturday afternoon. Ashley Helmink continues to lead the Saints by extending her hitting streak to 22 games with a 2-for-3 showing in game one and a 1-for-3 outing in game two.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: SHU 11, CU 3 (5 innings) / Game 2: SHU 4, CU 2
Location: Adrian, Michigan
Records: Siena Heights (23-7, 8-0 WHAC), Cornerstone (8-22, 2-10 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Siena Heights def. Cornerstone, 11-3 (5 innings)
The Saints cracked the scoreboard first when a dropped fly by Cornerstone allowed Kayla Boland and Kelsey Uhl to score and give Siena the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd-inning.
The Golden Eagles scored three runs in the 3rd-inning to take a temporary 3-2 lead. Helmink homered to left center to score herself and Lily Guerra to retake the lead for the Saints 4-3.
Siena added four more runs in the 4th-inning. Sam Hill singled to right field to score Kristi Carlson and Jordan Bianchi to extend the Saint lead to 6-3. Helmink doubled to left center to give the Saints another run. Racquel Ward singled to left center allowing Helmink to cross home-plate and put the score at 8-3.
The final three runs of the game came in the 5th-inning when Bianchi scored on a wild pitch and a fielding error by the Golden Eagles allowed two more runs home to end the game.
Game 2: Siena Heights def. Cornerstone, 4-2
Siena jumped to a quick lead in the 1st-inning when Helmink tripled to right field and brought Hill home for the 1-0 lead. A dropped fly ball on the next play gave Ward first base and scored Helmink to increase the lead to 2-0 SHU.
A home run by Jocelyn Hernandez cut the lead to one run in the 2nd-inning. Cornerstone tied things up in the third on a wild pitch. Hayley Turk hit a sacrifice fly that scored Uhl to recapture the lead for the Saints (3-2).
Guerra hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to score Carlson and tally the final run of the game for Siena.
TOP SAINT HITTERS
• Helmink tallied three hits, four RBIs, and three runs on the afternoon.
• Uhl finished with two hits and a run in game one. She also recorded a run in game two.
• Carlson registered two hits and two runs in the first game. She scored a run in game two.
• Hill scored twice and had two RBIs with one hit in game one.
• Guerra, Ward, Helmink, and Turk each had an RBI in the final game of the day.
SAINT PITCHING
• Ward (W, 12-3) earned the win in game one with another complete game performance. She allowed five hits and struck out three batters in the circle.
• Uhl (W, 8-4) contributed with a complete seven-inning game. She gave up nine hits and two earned runs while striking out three.
OPPOSITION HITTING
• Moriah Wilke recorded two RBIs with one hit.
• Aliyah Lemmer had the other RBI in the first game.
• Maddie Vassar and Hernandez each tallied two hits in game two. Hernandez also registered the team's only RBI in the game.
OPPOSITION PITCHING
• Courtney Ducharme allowed eight hits, six earned runs, and a home run in the game-one loss.
• Kaitlin Johnson gave up six hits and two earned runs in the loss in game two.
UP NEXT
Siena hosts Aquinas tomorrow in another WHAC doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. EDT.
