ADRIAN, Mich. – The Siena Heights softball team split with crosstown rival Adrian College on Wednesday. The Bulldogs took the first game by a score of 9-8 after nine innings of play. Due to darkness, the second game was moved over to Adrian College's field. The Saints won that contest 12-4 in six innings to split the series.
Game One: Adrian def. Siena Heights, 9-8 – 9 innings
Maddie Herrera (3-for-5) and Lily Guerra (3-for-5) recorded three hits to lead Siena Heights in game one. Herrera scored a run and an RBI while Guerra crossed the plate twice. Courtnee Chappetta (2-for-4) had two hits and an RBI in the losing effort. Kelsey Uhl (L, 3-3) pitched 8.0 innings while also helping her cause with a solo shot home run. Inside the circle, Uhl surrendered ten hits while striking out five batters.
An error by the Bulldogs gave Siena their first run of the game in the bottom of the 2nd-inning. Adrian tied things up with a score on a squeeze with only one out in the fourth. In the bottom half of the fourth, Uhl responded with a solo shot home run to lead off the inning and give Siena the 2-1 lead.
The visitors recaptured the lead in the fifth with an RBI single that tied the score at two before a three-run homer two batters later put the score at 5-2 in favor of Adrian. Herrera doubled down the left-field line to bring Julia Hogston home to cut the deficit to two runs.
The Saints pulled within one run in the sixth with a groundout RBI from Sam Hill that scored Kennedy Keller. Adrian tallied three more runs in the seventh to pull away a second time as the advantage sat at 8-4 with just a half-inning to survive to secure the win.
Chappetta hit a triple to right-center that scored Herrera to make the score 8-5. A walk by Uhl and a single from Guerra loaded the bases with no outs. Adrian got the out at home on the force out on the next play, but a throwing error sent the ball into the outfield as two Saints scored to put SHU within a run of forcing extra innings. Alyssa Marshall delivered with a single through the right side that scored Abby Fisher, and the score was tied at eight as the teams moved into the eighth inning.
A double to right field proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs scored the winning run on the play in the top of the ninth.
Game Two: Siena Heights def. Adrian, 12-4 – 6 innings
Chappetta (3-for-3) and Guerra (3-for-4) had the hot bats in the second game as they both finished with three hits. Chappetta had a team-high three runs while bringing home one runner. Guerra led with two home runs, five RBIs, and two runs. Shyann Truax (W, 3-1) pitched a complete game as she gave up seven hits while striking out 10 Bulldogs. The freshman pitcher also had a good day at-bat with a home solo home run in the contest.
In the opening inning, Adrian jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with a two-run homer. Herrera hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Hill to cut the Bulldog lead in half. Uhl then doubled to left-center to bring Chappetta and Hogston home to take a 3-2 lead. Guerra homered to right-center on the next play to score herself and Uhl and extend the lead to 5-2. Truax then homered to center field two batters later, and the Saints saw a 6-2 lead out of the first inning.
The Bulldogs got a run in the second off a double that put the score at 6-3 in favor of SHU. The score stagnated until the bottom of the fourth when Chappetta doubled to left field to score Herrera. Guerra then doubled to right-center to advance Uhl to third and score Chappetta as the lead was extended to 8-3.
A fielding error in the fifth scored Hogston to put the score at 9-4. Guerra drilled her second homer in the bottom of the sixth this one was a two-run shot over the center-field wall to put Siena up 11-4. A wild pitch ended the game as Keller crossed home plate to end things at 12-4
UP NEXT
The Saints begin a two-game road trip as they visit Cornerstone on Saturday, April 2, for the first doubleheader of WHAC play. The first game is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m.
