ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's softball team fell in both ends of a conference doubleheader at Trine by 4-0 and 14-4 (5 innings) scores on Tuesday afternoon.

 

The Belles put a pair of runners on base in the top of the first inning of game one. Mac Pepper drew a one-out walk, and Mandi Hettinger pushed a single through the left side of the defense. A pair of strikeouts, however, forced Saint Mary's into stranding the two on base. In the top of the third, McKenna Shoupe drew a one-out walk before Hettinger sent a single up the middle to again put two aboard. The Belles once again were unable to convert as the game remained scoreless.

 

The bottom half of the third saw the host Thunder capitalize on an error by the Belles as Trine plated three runs - all of which were unearned - to gain the lead. The Thunder added another run in the bottom of the fourth for the 4-0 advantage. Saint Mary's put two runners on base in both the top of the sixth and seventh innings. A foul pop up ended the scoring chance in the sixth while a line-drive double play ended the game in the seventh as the Belles fell by the 4-0 margin.

 

Mandi Hettinger went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Ashlei Sonnenberg collected her first collegiate career hit in a pinch hitting appearance in the seventh. McKenna Myers and Alyssa Gutierrez each added a hit. Hettinger shouldered the loss in the circle after going six innings and allowing just one earned run with three strikeouts.

 

In game two, the Thunder plated four runs in the top of the first inning for a quick lead out of the gate. Saint Mary's responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs to keep things close. McKenna Shoupe hit a lead-off single before moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt by McKenna Myers. Mandi Hettinger hit a deep fly ball to left field, which allowed Shoupe to tag up easily to third base. Caitlin Traxler then delivered a two-out single past the shortstop to drive in Shoupe. JoAnna Keilman then got ahold of a pitch and drove it over the center fielder for a double before an error allowed both Traxler and Keilman to score on the play to make it 4-3.

 

Trine, however, responded with two runs in the second, four runs in the third, and four runs in the fifth to build a 14-3 advantage. The Belles had trouble matching the offense of the Thunder as Saint Mary's was retired in order in the second and got one runner on base in both the third and fourth innings before coming up empty handed. Saint Mary's was able to get a run in the bottom half of the fifth after Shoupe drew a walk, advanced after the Thunder failed to try to pick the freshman off at first base, and scored on a single through the right side by Mandi Hettinger. The comeback effort was halted there as a ground out ended the game by the 14-4 final.

 

McKenna Shoupe was 1-for-1 with two walks and two runs in game two. JoAnna Keilman had a double, an RBI, and scored a run, and Caitlin Traxler posted a hit, an RBI, and a run. Mandi Hettinger collected an RBI with a hit, and McKayla Noecker tallied a hit. Caitlin Traxler suffered the pitching loss after going two-third of an inning. Libby Bierbaum, Noecker, and Hettinger each threw at least two outs over the final 4.1 innings of action.

 

The Belles (6-6, 5-3 MIAA) are back in action on Friday when they host Albion and Calvin for non-conference competition starting at noon.