SYLVANIA, Ohio -- The Siena Heights softball team split on the road against Lourdes in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) doubleheader. The Saints fell 8-5 in game one before routing the Gray Wolves 10-2 in five innings in game two. Sam Hill led the Saints with four hits and four RBIs on the day.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Lourdes 8, Siena Heights 5 / Game 2: Siena Heights 10, Lourdes 2 (5 innings)
Location: Sylvania, Ohio
Records: Siena Heights (25-9, 10-2 WHAC), Lourdes (6-16, 2-8 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Lourdes def. Siena Heights, 8-5
Lourdes put the first run on the board in the 2nd-inning after a single up the middle scored a run to give the Gray Wolves a 1-0 lead.
A dropped fly in center field allowed Kristi Carlson to score a run and tie the game up at one run in the top of the 2nd-inning. Lourdes would retake the lead in the bottom half of the inning after a single score a run and a fielding error by the Saints allowed two more runs to cross home plate for a 4-1 lead for the Gray Wolves.
Lily Guerra singled to right center to score Hill and Carlson to bring Siena within one run of tying the game in the top half of the 5th-inning. The lead was extended to two runs in the bottom half of the inning when another SHU error allowed a run.
A single up the middle and single to right field would score three more runs for Lourdes for an 8-3 advantage. Kayla Boland hit a two-RBI single down the left-field line with two outs but the Gray Wolves tallied the final out to seal the win. Ashley Helmink was held without a hit in the game to end her hit streak at 24 games. It is the longest hit streak in over two decades for Siena.
Game 2: Siena Heights def. Lourdes, 10-2 (5-innings)
The Saints would take the lead after Kelsey Uhl was walked with the bases loaded to score Hill. Jordan Bianchi doubled to left field to score Uhl, Racquel Ward, and Helmink for the 4-0 lead. Hill finished the scoring the opening inning with a single up the middle that scored Taylor Mowery and Bianchi for the 6-0 advantage. A double to left center and a sacrifice fly for Lourdes would bring things to 6-2.
The score would remain the same until the 5th-inning when the Saints would rattle off four runs and end the game after the inning. Hill got things going with a double down the left-field line that scored Carlson and Mowery. Helmink hit a home run down the left field line that scored herself and hill for the third and fourth run of the inning. The Gray Wolves hit a single in the bottom half of the 5th-inning but SHU prevented the two-out rally to end the game.
TOP SAINT HITTERS
• Guerra (2-3), Boland (2-4), and Carlson (2-2) each tallied two hits in game one to lead the Saints. Guerra and Boland each led the team with two RBIs in the game.
• Hill was a perfect 3-for-3 in game two with four RBIs and two runs.
• Ward also tallied three hits in three at-bats while scoring a run in the 10-2 win.
SAINT PITCHING
• Ward (L, 13-4) pitched all six innings in game one. She allowed 10 hits and five earned runs while striking out five Lourdes hitters in the losing effort.
• Uhl (W, 9-5) earned the win in game two giving up five hits and two earned runs along with five strikeouts.
OPPOSITION HITTING
• Kim Waters, Marissa Kostick, Olivia Stanton, and Alexis Nowowiecki each tallied two hits to lead Lourdes in game one. Nowowiecki also had a game-high three RBIs.
• Stanton led the Gray Wolves in game two with two hits in game two.
OPPOSITION PITCHING
• Kostick (W, 4-6) gave up eight hits and three earned runs while striking out five SHU batters in the game-one win.
• Ashley Riley (L, 0-4) earned the loss after pitching the final 0.2 innings where she allowed six runs.
• Tiana Card started game two for the Gray Wolves. She pitched 4.2 innings and allowed 12 hits and four earned runs.
UP NEXT
The Saints will return home to host Cleary in a WHAC doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
