FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Saint Mary's softball team fell 7-2 and 8-4 in a doubleheader at Franklin on Tuesday afternoon.

 

The host Grizzlies used a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the first to gain the early lead. Another two-out rally in the bottom of the second saw Franklin's lead grow to 6-0. The Belles got the offense going in the top of the third. Maddie James laced a lead-off double to left-center field before an infield ground out pushed the sophomore to third. Mac Pepper drew a walk, and Rylee Hershberger drove in James with a fielder's choice that saw Pepper get forced out at second. Caitlin Traxler put a single into center field, and Libby Bierbaum hit a single to center to push Hershberger across home to make it a 6-2 game.

 

The defense forced the Grizzlies into stranding a runner at third in the bottom half of the inning, but the offense was unable to capitalize on a scoring chance with runners at the corners in the top of the fourth. Franklin, meanwhile, plated another run in the fourth to gain a 7-2 advantage. Bierbaum collected a single in the fifth but was unable to score. Maddie James beat out an infield single with two outs gone in the third before a groundout ended the offense's opportunity to plate a run. The Belles were then retired in order in the seventh in the 7-2 game one final.

 

Maddie James went 2-for-3 with a double and scored a run in the opener. Libby Bierbaum added a 2-for-3 effort of her own with an RBI. Caitlin Traxler was 2-for-4, and Sam Mikitka collected a hit. Rylee Hershberger drove in a run and scored a run. Bierbaum shouldered the loss in the circle after going six innings and allowing four earned runs with no walks and one strikeout.

 

The second game of the day saw the Grizzlies push two unearned runs across in the bottom of the first. McKenna Myers hit a one-out double to left field in the top of the second but was stranded after a pair of quick outs. Franklin responded with two more runs in the bottom of the second to double their lead to 4-0.

 

Maddie James led off the third with a single, and McKena Shoupe put down a sacrifice bunt to advance James to second. A groundout put James on third before a Rylee Hershberger walk put runners on the corners. Caitlin Traxler then drove in James with a single to left-center field to put Saint Mary's on the scoreboard. The defense for the Belles made a clutch double play in the bottom of the third with James making a catch and doubling off a runner at first. 

 

Saint Mary's loaded the bases in the top of the fourth after singles by McKenna Myers, Sam Mikitka, and Alexis Rauch only to have a double play turned against them. A fly out then ended the scoring chance for the Belles. The Grizzlies used a lead-off triple and a single to score a run in the bottom of the fourth. After forcing Saint Mary's into stranding a runner in the fifth, Franklin plated three runs with only one out gone in the bottom half of the inning to gain an 8-1 lead. Saint Mary's kept the game alive and prevented the Grizzlies from gaining an eight-run rule win with a fly out to McKenna Shoupe in center and a ground out to Rylee Hershberger at third.

 

McKenna Myers led off the sixth with a single, and Alexis Rauch laced a one-out single to right-center as Myers advanced to third on the play. A hard-hit ball by Maddie James saw Myers beat the throw to the plate and score on the fielder's choice. Two batters later, Sophie Allen drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Rylee Hershberger then raked a single to left-center to plate both Rauch and James. A passed ball allowed both runners to advance into scoring position, but Caitlin Traxler saw a deep fly ball caught just in front of the warning track to end the rally as the Belles pulled within 8-4.

 

The defense forced Franklin into stranding a pair of runners in the bottom of the sixth as the Belles picked up the bats in the top of the seventh. McKenna Myers hit a one-out single to left field, but Sam Mikitka had a deep fly ball tracked down in left-center field for the second out of the inning. Alexis Rauch laced a single to left field to keep the comeback hopes alive before the Grizzlies' shortstop ran down a fly ball in the outfield to make the catch and end the game by the 8-4 final score.

 

McKenna Myers went 4-for-4 at the plate with a double while scoring a run. Alexis Rauch added a 3-for-4 effort with a run. Caitlin Traxler went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Maddie James tallied a hit, two runs scored, and an RBI. Rylee Hershberger added a hit, a walk, and an RBI. Sam Mikitka also posted a hit. Mikitka suffered the pitching loss after she went all six innings in the circle with two walks.

 

The Belles (5-7) are set to travel to Wheaton on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. CDT.