ALMA, Mich. - The Saint Mary's softball team bounced back from a 5-4 loss against Calvin to take a 4-3 win over host Alma in a pair of non-conference games on Friday afternoon.

 

Squaring off against the Knights for the third time in as many contests this season, Calvin took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. JoAnna Keilman quickly erased that lead with a solo home run in the top of the second inning to knot the game at one run apiece. The Knights responded with a two-out rally as Calvin pushed three runs across for a 4-1 lead. The Belles came right back in their next at-bats to stay right with Calvin. McKenna Shoupe drew a one-out walk before stealing second to put herself into scoring position. Mandi Hettinger drove in Shoupe with a single and advanced to second on the throw home. Anna Gruber drew a walk to put a pair aboard for the Belles, and Keilman laced a single to drive in Hettinger to make it a 4-3 game.

 

Shoupe led off the top of the fifth with a single. The freshman then stole both second and third to 60 feet away from scoring the potential tying run. A hard ground out to the Alma third baseman followed by a fly out, however, stranded Shoupe at third to end the inning. Natalie Quinlan hit a one-out single in the top of the sixth, and Paige Madden came in to pinch run for the junior. A wild pitch allowed Madden to advance to second, but the Belles again were unable to get the timely hit needed to plate the run.

 

The Knights plated a big run in the bottom half of the inning to edge ahead 5-3 going into the top of the seventh. Shoupe reached first base and advanced to second all on a throwing error by the Calvin pitcher as the Belles looked to keep the game alive. Two batters later, Anna Gruber drew a walk to put the tying run on base. JoAnna Keilman blooped the ball into shallow right field as Shoupe scored easily on the play to make it 5-4, but the Calvin left fielder made a game-ending running catch on a hard-hit line drive by Caitlin Traxler to end the game.

 

JoAnna Keilman was credited with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate with a solo home run, two RBI, and a run scored. McKenna Shoupe was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two runs. Mandi Hettinger had a hit, an RBI, and scored a run. Libby Bierbaum went the distance in the circle as the freshman struck out two in the loss.

 

In game two, the Belles were the home team on the scoreboard, but the host Scots scored first with a two-out RBI single in the top of the second. The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fourth inning. Mandi Hettinger led off with a single, and Anna Gruber laced a double to put two runners into scoring position. An error on a ball hit by JoAnna Keilman allowed Hettinger to score as Gruber advanced to third on the play. A double steal saw Keilman swipe second and Gruber slide into home before the tag to give the Belles a 2-1 lead. Caitlin Traxler then powered a double down the right field line to score Keilman for a 3-1 lead. Sydney Swartz added her second double in as many at-bats with two outs, but the Belles were unable to add to the lead.

 

Alma pushed a run across in both the fifth and the sixth, but both times, the Belles were able to limit the damage as Saint Mary's got out of both innings defensively with the bases loaded. After a 1-2-3 inning on defense in the seventh, the Belles quickly gained momentum in the bottom half of the frame. Paige Madden laced a one-out single, and McKenna Shoupe drew a walk to put two runners on base. Mandi Hettinger added a single of her own to load the bases with one out gone. Anna Gruber then drove a fly ball to left field, and Madden tagged up and scored on the sacrifice fly to lift the Belles to the 4-3 win over the Scots.

 

Anna Gruber went 1-for-3 with a double, a run, and the game-winning RBI. Sydney Swartz went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, and Mandi Hettinger was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Caitlin Traxler had a double and an RBI, and Paige Madden had a hit and scored the game-winning run. Caitlin Traxler earned her first pitching win for the Belles after going seven complete and allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out three.

 

The Belles (2-2) have a quick turnaround as they travel to Kalamazoo on Saturday to take on the host Hornets and Adrian starting at noon.