NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's softball team came up short in 6-4 and 5-1 finals against visiting North Park on Friday.

 

The Belles struck first with a three-run burst in the bottom of the first. Rylee Hershberger drew a lead-off walk before Mac Pepper used a sacrifice bunt to advance Hershberger to second. Two batters later, Libby Bierbaum laced a double to center field to drive in Hershberger. McKenna Myers followed suit with a double to center field to plate Bierbaum. Alexis Rauch then added a double of her own to push Myers across home for the 3-0 advantage. 

 

A two-out single allowed the Vikings to get on the scoreboard in the top of the second. North Park used a single and a walk with a double to plate two runs to tie the game in the third. The Vikings added a two-out single to take a 4-3 lead. The Belles put a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the third, but back-to-back outs ended the chance. The Saint Mary's defense forced North Park into stranding a runner at third in the fourth inning. 

 

North Park used a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to gain a 5-3 lead before adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Maddie James led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and McKenna Shoupe dropped a single into left field to put a pair on base. An infield groundout advanced the pair into scoring position before an infield ground out by Mac Pepper drove in James. The comeback, however, came up short as a fly out ended the game by the 6-4 final.

 

Libby Bierbaum and McKenna Myers both went 2-for-3 with a double, a run, and an RBI in the game. Alexis Rauch registered a double and an RBI, and Mac Pepper had a hit and drove in a run. McKenna Shoupe posted a hit, and Rylee Hershberger scored a run. Biebarum suffered the pitching loss after going six-plus innings in the circle. Caitlin Traxler did not allow a hit and struck out one in an inning of work. 

 

Game two saw the Vikings take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. North Park extended their lead with a two-out run in the third. The Belles broke through into the scoring column in the bottom of the fourth. Libby Bierbaum led off with a single, and Alexis Rauch added a single two batters later. A walk by Sam Mikitka loaded the bases with a walk, and a sacrifice fly by Maddie James drove in Bierbaum. The Belles were unable to chip any further away at the Vikings' lead as a strikeout ended the inning.

 

Saint Mary's continued to work to find the comeback in game two. The Belles put two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth after Mac Pepper reached on an error and a walk by Bierbaum put a pair aboard. A flyout halted the scoring chance to strand the pair. The Vikings plated two more runs in the top of the sixth to gain a 5-1 advantage. Saint Mary's put one runner on in both the sixth and seventh but were unable to inflict any damage in a 5-1 final.

 

Libby Bierbaum had a hit, scored a run, and walked twice. Alexis Rauch added a hit of her own, and Maddie James collected an RBI while also drawing two walks. Sam Mikitka had the loss in the circle after going 5.1 innings with a pair of strikeouts. Caitlin Traxler closed out the final 1.2 innings with just one hit and a strikeout. 

The Belles (5-11) open conference play on Saturday when they travel to Albion for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.