ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights softball team tallied two more wins in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) with 9-6 and 3-1 wins over Rochester on Saturday afternoon. Ashley Helmink led the Saints with four RBIs in the doubleheader.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Siena Heights 9, Rochester 6 | Game 2: Siena Heights 3, Rochester 1
Location: Adrian, Michigan
Records: Siena Heights (28-10, 13-3 WHAC), Rochester (10-26, 5-11 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Siena Heights def. Rochester 9-6
Rochester scored first with a single in the 1st-inning. Ashley Helmink homered in the bottom half of the inning to score herself and Lily Guerra for the 2-1 advantage.
A SHU error in the 2nd-inning allowed a Warrior runner to score, tying things up at two. A bases-loaded walk allowed a second Rochester run. Another crossed the plate with a passed ball and a fourth run scored due to a wild pitch to give the Warriors a 5-2 lead.
Kristi Carlson tripled to right field to score Jordan Bianchi and cut the deficit to just two runs. Sam Hill brought Carlson home with a ground out to bring SHU within one run of tying things. Helmink hit a sacrifice fly to score Guerra to tie the game in the 2nd-inning.
Two more runs were scored by the Saints in the 3rd-inning for a 7-5 Siena Heights lead. Hill singled to score Carlson in the 5th-inning and a double steal gave Kayla Boland second base and Ashley Bearden home in the 6th-inning for the final run of the game.
Game 2: Siena Heights def. Rochester 3-1
Guerra doubled to center field before Helmink hit a double of her own to left center, scoring Guerra and give Siena the 1-0 early on in the 1st-inning.
An error by Rochester gave Hill the base and scored Taylor Mowery to increase the lead to two. Carlson crossed home plate as the Warriors threw out Hill to give SHU a 3-0 lead.
Rochester got on the board in the 7th-inning with a single to right field that scored a run, but the Saints were able to get the final out to seal the win in game two.
SAINT HITTING
• Hill, Guerra, Racquel Ward, Kelsey Uhl, and Carlson each tallied two hits in game one.
• Helmink finished with four RBIs in the first game while Hill registered two.
• Guerra and Carlson led Siena in the second game with two hits.
• Hill had a game-high two RBIs to help the Saints achieve a 2-0 record on the day.
SAINT PITCHING
• Uhl (W, 10-6) got the win in game one after 5.1 innings pitched in relief.
• Ward (W, 15-4) pitched a complete game allowing only four hits and striking out five batters.
OPPOSITION HITTING
• Mikaela Smolar led the Warriors with three hits and three runs in game one.
• Taylor Foy, Mackenzie Muncy, Katherine Plonka, and Morgan Box were the only Rochester players to get a hit in game two.
OPPOSITION PITCHING
• Foy (L, 0-8) earned the loss in game one by giving up 12 hits, seven earned runs, and a home run.
• Brittney Resinger (L, 0-10) allowed seven hits and one earned run to gain the loss in the final game of the afternoon.
UP NEXT
The Saints travel to face Cincinnati Christian in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 16. Game one is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. first pitch.