Photo courtesy of Dan Horan.
Posted: Mar 12, 2024
LEESBURG, Fla. - Despite having both their largest scoring output of the season in game one and playing arguably their best game of their young season in game two, the Saint Mary's softball team came up short in a 13-7 final against Curry and a tight 2-1 contest against McMurry.
The Belles got things going early against the Colonels. McKenna Shoupe drew a lead-off walk. Alexis Rauch then reached on an error on her sacrifice bunt effort to put runners at the corners before Rauch stole second base. A hard-hit fielder's choice by Libby Bierbaum saw Shoupe and Rauch both score on the play as Bierbaum advanced to second on a throwing error to give the Belles a 2-0 lead.
The Colonels plated a run in the bottom half of the first, but the defense for the Belles forced Curry into stranding a pair of runners on base. Saint Mary's responded in the top of the second. Mary Charniak roped a single to center field with one out gone. Two batters later, McKenna Shoupe sent a single to center field. Solid base running by Charniak led to an error by the Colonels which allowed the freshman to score on the play, giving the Belles a 3-1 advantage.
Libby Bierbaum hit a one-out infield single, and McKenna Myers drew a walk to put a pair on base in the third. Back-to-back groundouts, however, stopped the offense from adding to the lead. The bottom half of the inning saw Curry plate three runs on four hits as the Colonels went up 4-3.
Saint Mary's once again came back with a response in their next at-bats. Madi Ingolia got things going with a one-out triple. An error by the Curry third baseman on McKenna Shoupe's batted ball allowed Ingolia to score easily while Shoupe advanced to second on the play. A hard ground out by Alexis Rauch advanced Shoupe to third, and a triple by Caitlin Traxler down the right field line drove in Shoupe to put the Belles ahead 5-4.
The Colonels used a two-out rally to plate seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Curry claimed an 11-5 lead. The Belles countered in the top of the fifth. Rylee Hershberger reached on an error before Sam Mikitka laced a single to center field. Another error by the Colonels saw Mary Charniak reach first base safely as Hershberger scored on the play. McKenna Shoupe then dropped a double down the left field line to drive in Mikitka while making it an 11-7 game. The Belles were unable to push any additional runs across in the inning as the game moved forward.
Curry got a run back in the bottom of the fifth inning to carry a 12-7 lead heading into the sixth. The Belles were retired in order in the sixth, and the Colonels plated a run in the bottom half of the inning before the defense cut down a pair of runners trying to steal second to shut down the inning. Down to their final at-bats, the Belles were unable to get the late-inning rally going and were retired in order to end the game.
The Colonels plated a run in the bottom half of the first, but the defense for the Belles forced Curry into stranding a pair of runners on base. Saint Mary's responded in the top of the second. Mary Charniak roped a single to center field with one out gone. Two batters later, McKenna Shoupe sent a single to center field. Solid base running by Charniak led to an error by the Colonels which allowed the freshman to score on the play, giving the Belles a 3-1 advantage.
Libby Bierbaum hit a one-out infield single, and McKenna Myers drew a walk to put a pair on base in the third. Back-to-back groundouts, however, stopped the offense from adding to the lead. The bottom half of the inning saw Curry plate three runs on four hits as the Colonels went up 4-3.
Saint Mary's once again came back with a response in their next at-bats. Madi Ingolia got things going with a one-out triple. An error by the Curry third baseman on McKenna Shoupe's batted ball allowed Ingolia to score easily while Shoupe advanced to second on the play. A hard ground out by Alexis Rauch advanced Shoupe to third, and a triple by Caitlin Traxler down the right field line drove in Shoupe to put the Belles ahead 5-4.
The Colonels used a two-out rally to plate seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Curry claimed an 11-5 lead. The Belles countered in the top of the fifth. Rylee Hershberger reached on an error before Sam Mikitka laced a single to center field. Another error by the Colonels saw Mary Charniak reach first base safely as Hershberger scored on the play. McKenna Shoupe then dropped a double down the left field line to drive in Mikitka while making it an 11-7 game. The Belles were unable to push any additional runs across in the inning as the game moved forward.
Curry got a run back in the bottom of the fifth inning to carry a 12-7 lead heading into the sixth. The Belles were retired in order in the sixth, and the Colonels plated a run in the bottom half of the inning before the defense cut down a pair of runners trying to steal second to shut down the inning. Down to their final at-bats, the Belles were unable to get the late-inning rally going and were retired in order to end the game.
McKenna Shoupe went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored. Caitlin Traxler hit a triple and drove in a run while Madi Ingolia added a triple and scored once. Mary Charniak and Sam Mikitka each had a hit and scored a run. Libby Bierbaum added a hit and an RBI. Bierbaum suffered the pitching loss in the circle after going 3.2 innings with three strikeouts. Charniak went the final 2.1 with a strikeout.
The Belles' contest against the War Hawks was a closely-played contest from start to finish. Caitlin Traxler shut the door on McMurry's offense in the top of the first as a two-out strikeout forced the War Hawks into stranding two runners in scoring position. Saint Mary's nearly broke through in the bottom half of the first. McKenna Shoupe used the sun to her advantage as she legged out an infield single after the ball was lost by the McMurry shortstop on the play. Mary Charniak drew a walk, and a ground out by Alexis Rauch to the right side of the infield allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Libby Bierbaum drew a two-out walk to load the bases, but the Belles were unable to advance anyone any further.
Both sides were retired in order in the second inning of play. The War Hawks capitalized on a pair of miscues in the third to plate a run, but Sophie Allen tagged out a runner trying to steal home to end the inning. Shoupe then led off the third with another infield single and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Charniak. The Belles forced the War Hawks into making a tough play with aggressive base running on a grounder by Alexis Rauch. Shoupe avoided the initial play at the plate and nearly dove back into safely touch home before narrowly being tagged out at home to end the inning.
The Belles retired the War Hawks in order in the fourth. Rylee Hershberger nearly got Saint Mary's on the scoreboard as her deep drive to left field tailed just foul. Hershberger did reach base on a well-placed single moments later but was stranded on base to end the inning.
Another three-up, three-down defensive inning by Saint Mary's was capped off by a diving catch by Leah Zimmerman in right field. The Belles then forced McMurry into stranding a runner in scoring position as McKenna Myers made a snag in foul territory to end the sixth.
The Belles broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rauch led off with a single through the left side of the defense, and an error by the War Hawks allowed Rauch to reach third while Caitlin Traxler was safe on the play. Libby Bierbaum then drove in Rauch with a fielder's choice to knot the game at 1-1.
McMurry scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh inning for a 2-1 lead before Alexis Rauch made a catch in foul territory to strand a runner on base for the War Hawks. The final at-bats for the Belles, however, were unable to lead to the needed run to keep the game alive as Saint Mary's fell by the one-run margin.
McKenna Shoupe continued a hot day at the plate with another 2-for-3 effort. Alexis Rauch added a hit and scored a run. Rylee Hershberger and Leah Zimmerman each had a hit, and Libby Bierbaum drove in a run. Caitlin Traxler shouldered the tough loss in the circle despite allowing just three hits and zero earned runs while striking out five.
The Belles (0-6) are off on Wednesday and are set to take on Farmingdale State and Edgewood on Thursday, March 14. Game one begins at 9:15 a.m. at Hancock Park in Clermont, Florida.