OLIVET, Mich. - The Saint Mary's softball team scored 24 runs on their way to a 12-0 (5 innings) win in game one and a 12-1 (5 innings) victory in game two for a conference sweep of Olivet on Sunday afternoon.

 

The opener saw the Belles jump out to a 7-0 lead through the first half-inning of play. McKenna Shoupe and Mac Pepper led off with back-to-back singles to the outfield, and Caitlin Traxler pushed a single up the middle to plate Shoupe. A wild pitch put Pepper and Traxler into scoring position. McKenna Myers drove in the pair with a single to right field as the lead grew to 3-0 with no outs gone. Mandi Hettinger then reached on an error, and Alexis Rauch found the right-center gap with a double to push Myers and Hettinger across home plate. Natalie Quinlan laced a single and moved to second on the throw to again put two runners into scoring position. Anna Gruber reached on an error which allowed both Rauch and Quinlan to score for a 7-0 lead. Maddie James registered her first collegiate hit iwt ha single, but the Belles had their scoring chances stopped with three consecutive outs. 

 

The defense put a stop to a scoring chance for the Comets in the bottom half of the first. Quinlan cut down a runner trying to steal second base, and Myers got a force out at third with two runners on to end the inning. 

 

Saint Mary's added to the lead in the top of the second. A play at the plate saw Myers get stopped short of scoring on a Mandi Hettinger double, but a wild pitch and a single by Rauch. In the bottom of the inning, Olivet had another scoring chance stopped as Mandi Hettinger wrung up a two-out strikeout to force the Comets into stranding a runner on third.

 

In the top of the fourth, McKenna Myers and Mandi Hettinger hit consecutive one-out singles to get the offense going. Grace Renschen then collected her first collegiate hit and RBI with a single to left field to plate Myers. Shelby Dellasandro made the most of a pinch hitting opportunity with a two-out, two-RBI double to center field as Hettinger and Renschen came in to score for an 11-0 lead.

 

With the bases loaded for the Comets in the bottom of the fourth, the Belles got an inning-ending double play from Renschen to Quinlan to Abigail Tietema for the pitcher-to-catcher-to-first base combination.

 

Saint Mary's added a run in the top of the fifth. Caitlin Traxler drew a two-out walk, and the ball hit by McKenna Myers to right field was dropped as Traxler scored from first on the play. The Comets, meanwhile, made one last push to try to get on the scoreboard by putting a pair of runners on with two outs. Renschen drew a ground out to Traxler at second, and the Belles took game one by the 12-0 margin.

 

Alexis Rauch was 2-for-2 with three RBI, a double, and a run in game one. Mandi Hettinger added a 2-for-3 effort while hitting a double and scoring three times. McKenna Myers was 2-for-4 at the dish in the opener with two runs and two RBI. Shelby Dellasandro drove in two runs and hit a double, and Caitlin Traxler scored twice. McKenna Shoupe, Mac Pepper, Grace Renschen, and Natalie Quinlan each had a hit and scored a run. Hettinger earned the pitching win after going three complete and striking out one while allowing no extra-base hits. Grace Renschen closed out the final two innings and struck out three as the freshman also did not allow any extra-base hits.

 

The defense cut down an Olivet runner at third in the top of the first inning of game two, and the offense picked right back up in the bottom half of the inning for Saint Mary's. A pair of errors and a single loaded the bases with Pepper, Rauch, and Traxler with one out gone, and Hettinger drove in Pepper and Rauch with a double to left field. Shoupe then used a single to center field to drive in Traxler and Hettinger for a quick 4-0 lead. Shoupe swiped third base, and Libby Bierbaum helped her own cause as the starting pitcher doubled down the right field line to plate Shoupe easily for the 5-0 advantage. 

 

The Comets pushed their first run of the afternoon across home plate in the top of the third inning on a two-out single. An inning and a half later, the Belles responded with a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the fourth. Winnie Tomsheck reached on an error before Maddie James came in to pinch run. Anna Gruber reached on a fielder's choice which saw James advance to third on a throwing error as the Comets were unable to get the force out at second base. Gruber then stole second base, and Mac Pepper battled her way to a walk to load the bases. Alexis Rauch then blasted her first collegiate home run with a grand slam to right field to push the Saint Mary's lead to 9-1. A pair of outs only temporarily slowed down the Belles as Mandi Hettinger got things going again three batters later with a single to left field. McKenna Shoupe added a single of her own, and Libby Bierbaum lifted a double over the center fielder to drive in both runners for the 11-1 advantage. Winnie Tomsheck then came back up to the plate and used a single to left field to drive in Bierbaum. The Belles loaded the bases with two outs on a walk by Gruber and a walk by Pepper, but Rauch just missed out on more runs batted in as her hard-hit shot to center field was caught to end the inning.

 

The Belles then made quick work of the Comets in the top of the fifth as Libby Bierbaum induced a pair of ground outs before a fly out in foul territory to right field was caught by Pepper to close out the game.

 

Alexis Rauch was 2-for-4 with a grand slam, four RBI, and two runs. Mandi Hettinger and McKenna Shoupe were both 2-for-3 at the plate in game two with two RBI and two runs scored each while Hettinger collected a double. Libby Bierbaum went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three RBI, and a run. Mac Pepper went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs, and Winnie Tomsheck had a hit and drove in a run. Caitlin Traxler, Maddie James, and Anna Gruber each scored once for the Belles in game two. Bierbaum, meanwhile, went five complete in the circle en route to the pitching win. She allowed just one run and one walk with six strikeouts and no extra-base hits, needing just 62 pitches for the victory.

 

The Belles (6-7, 2-2 MIAA) are back on the road on Monday when they travel to Alma for a conference doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m.