ADRIAN, Mich. – The Siena Heights softball team swept Concordia (Mich.) in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) doubleheader Sunday afternoon. The Saints (15-10, 4-4 WHAC) improved to 4-4 in league play with the victories as they defeated the Cardinals (18-16, 3-5 WHAC) 9-5 in game one and 6-2 in game two.
Game One: Siena Heights def. CUAA, 9-5 – 7 Innings
Kelsey Uhl (W, 4-5) led the Saints offensively as she finished game one 3-for-4 and brought home two runners. The senior from Toledo, Ohio, also started inside the circle, pitching a complete game for SHU as she allowed seven hits and four earned runs while striking out two batters. Maddie Herrera (3-for-4) also tallied three hits and scored twice in the opening game. Courtnee Chappetta (2-for-3), Abby Fisher (2-for-4), and Lyndsey Pena (2-for-3) recorded two hits. Chappetta brought a runner home while also scoring twice herself. Fisher had a team-high four RBIs.
A sloppy first inning put six runs on the board between the two teams. After a fielding error, the Cardinals were given a base before a double brought her home for the 1-0 lead. Another fielding error gave CUAA a base and scored a runner, extending the lead to 2-0. A dropped fly by Concordia put Lily Guerra on base. Herrera moved her to second with a single to left field, and Chappetta loaded the bases with a single to right field. Uhl brought two runners home with a double to left-center to tie the game. Fisher then doubled to left-center, scoring Uhl and Chappetta for the 4-2 lead.
Concordia (Mich.) scored on a groundout to short to cut the SHU lead to one run. A single up the middle gave the Cardinals a 5-4 lead before the Saints could get out of the inning. Julie Hogston led off the bottom of the second with a base on balls. She advanced to second on a wild pitch before Sam Hill moved her over to third on a sacrifice bunt. Hogston crossed the plate on the next play to tie things up at five runs.
The score stagnated until the bottom half of the fifth when an error by CUAA let Alexis Hirst score to give Siena Heights a 6-5 edge.
Chappetta hit a double to left field in the sixth to score Herrera and give SHU an insurance run on the board. Fisher followed suit with a single that scored Lauren Dioszegi and Chappetta to pull away with a 9-5 lead with just one inning left to play.
The Cardinals threatened a rally with a lead-off single, but SHU's defense held firm and got the three outs to end the contest with a 9-5 win.
Game Two: Siena Heights def. Concordia (Mich.), 6-2 – 7 innings
Guerra (3-for-4) led offensively with three hits, a double, two RBIs, and three runs. Uhl (2-for-2) and Hill (2-for-3) both earned two hits. Uhl had a double and two RBIs while Hill scored once. Jordan Green (W, 7-3) earned the win in the circle on 6.0 innings of work where she surrendered five hits, two earned runs, and struck out three. Uhl pitched the final inning in relief and just gave up one hit.
The Saints held the Cardinals scoreless for the first four innings while building a 3-0 lead through three. A throwing error for CUAA in the bottom half of the first scored Guerra to give Siena a 1-0 lead early.
Uhl extended the deficit to 3-0 with a double up the middle, scoring Herrera and Guerra in the third inning. Concordia (Mich.) got on the board with an RBI double in the fifth, but Chappetta singled to right in the bottom half of the inning to score Guerra and put the lead back three runs, 4-1.
In the sixth, a single to third base scored a run for the Cardinals. Guerra then doubled to left-center to score Hill and Kennedy Keller in the bottom half of the inning as the lead increased to 6-2.
A two-out single up the middle put a runner on base for CUAA in the top of the seventh, but a ground out to the pitcher ended the contest with a second win for Siena Heights.
UP NEXT
The SHU softball team will hit the road tomorrow, April 11, for a non-conference doubleheader against Ohio Christian. The first game in that series is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.
