CLERMONT, Fla. - Taylor Mendez brought her big bat on the Florida trip and it is paying off for the University of Mary Softball team as she smacked one over the fence in an 11-2 win over the College of Saint Rose, and tied the game up against Ashland University before losing 7-6.
 
The Marauders (6-10) score fast and early on the Golden Knights (4-5) and were looking to end the game early after building up a substantial lead in the first inning.
 
Alana Norman led off the top of the first inning with a slap single to the third baseman and beat the resulting throw. After stealing second, she advanced to third on a drop bunt from Nicole O'Haver and O'Haver added another stolen base to her total in the next at bat as she snagged second.
 
U-Mary got some help from the field as Nena Dudley reached on a fielder's choice in her at bat as Norman scored on an error by the catcher from Saint Rose, with O'Haver reaching home as well, and when the dust settled the Marauders held a 2-0 lead with nobody out.
 
U-Mary was just getting started, though, as Amber Gamboa singled to right field, scoring Dudley from third after she advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Mendez. After loading the bases, Demaree Rodriguez drew a walk, bringing in Gamboa and after Norman came up to bat she laced a hit to left field, scoring Kristin Ormsby and Colleen Crutchfield.
 
O'Haver, in her second at bat of the first inning, singled to left field, scoring Rodriguez, and Dudley got another hit for the Marauders that scored Norman. By the end of the inning, U-Mary had eight runs on seven hits, putting the Golden Knights in an early 8-0 hole.
 
Saint Rose got one run back in the bottom half of the first inning as they scored on an error by the Marauders, but that was all they can get as Dudley, the starting pitcher, finally settled in and brought the fire to the Golden Knights.
 
The pitcher for Saint Rose also settled down as U-Mary extended their lead back to 9-1 after Gamboa singled to center field, scoring Julissa Perales; but the game wouldn't end in the fifth inning as the Golden Knights got an RBI double in the bottom half of the fifth, putting the score at 9-2.
 
Mendez got her first blast of the day, second of the Florida trip, in the top of the sixth as she sent a shot to left center with nobody on, putting the score back at 10-2. U-Mary got one more in the inning as Ormsby singled to right center, scoring Crutchfield and U-Mary went into the bottom of the sixth up 11-2.
 
Saint Rose couldn't cut into the lead and the mercy rule took effect as the Marauder won their first match of the day over the Golden Knights 11-2.
 
Norman got three hits on the day with two RBI and two runs scored; she also had three stolen bases in the game.
 
Mendez only recorded two at bats as she had two sacrifice bunts, but one of those at bats turned into a home run for the sophomore from Los Banos, Calif.
 
Crutchfield also got three hits in the game as she scored twice for the Marauders.
 
O'Haver brought her average up as she got two hits in four at bats with three stolen bases, one RBI, and a run.
 
Dudley, another freshman for U-Mary, had two hits as well with two RBI, and she improved her pitching record to 5-2 with six innings pitcher, two strikeouts, six hits given up, and only one earned run.
 
Gamboa was the final Marauder to record a multi-hit game as she got two against Saint Rose with two RBI and one run.
 
The Marauders weren't done on the day as they had one more against Ashland University (6-1) as U-Mary had to fight back from an early deficit only to lose the game in heartbreaking fashion.
 
The Eagles got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning as a lead off double put a runner at second with no outs and was advanced over to third off a sacrifice bunt. The next batter drew a walk and got to second on a passed ball and the runner on third ended up scoring off a single to center field, putting the score at 1-0.
 
After another single to left center scored the second run, Ashland's Taylor Menhart sent a three-run shot to right field, putting the score at 5-0 heading into the second.
 
The Marauders got one back in the top of the third as Crutchfield led off the inning with a blast to straight away center field, putting the score at 5-1, but U-Mary couldn't get anything going in the inning and still faced a four-run deficit heading into the bottom of the third.
 
The Eagles got the run back as Bri Buckley responded with a home run of her own to put the score back at 6-1, but the Marauders were able to prevent any further damage being done in the inning.
 
Desperation time started to set in for U-Mary as they went without scoring in the fourth inning, but finally broke through in the fifth after a lead off single from Mendez and a follow-up single from Gamboa put runners at first and second with nobody out.
 
Crutchfield drew a walk to load the bases and Demaree Rodriguez drove in two with a single to left center. The throw at the plate nearly got Erin Keen, who was pinch running for Gamboa, but her clever slide took her out of reach of the tag from the catcher and the Marauders cut the lead down to 6-3.
 
Norman got a single in her next at bat, against loading up the bases, and a run was scored on a wild pitch, further narrowing the score to 6-4.
 
The Marauders couldn't get any closer in the inning and Ashland University was threatening to add to their lead in the bottom of the fifth. MeLanie Rodriguez had something to say about, as she turned into a ball magnet in the circle, single-handedly getting two outs with two runners on. She had a total of seven assists in the field on the game.
 
Mendez kept the power coming for the Marauders in the top of the sixth as she drove another shot deep to right center, scoring Francine Villalobos who was pinch running for Perales, knotting the score at 6-6 heading into the seventh inning.
 
The game came to a screeching halt, unfortunately, after Kayla Prokopakis sent a two-out pitch to deep center field, handing the Marauders a tough pill to swallow in the form of a 7-6 loss.
 
Mendez was the lone Marauder to get another multi-hit game as she finished with two hits, two RBI and two runs
 
The Marauders picked up a few games and will play West Chester University of Pennsylvania tomorrow in a double header starting at 8 a.m., CDT.
 
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