CLERMONT, Fla. - A surging offense powered the University of Mary Softball team this afternoon, as they took on St. Anselm College and Notre Dame College for the start of the Dot Richardson Spring Games.
 
The Marauders (2-5) got 12 hits as a team against the Hawks (1-3) in the first game of the day for their first win of the year at 7-2, and followed up with 18 hits against the Falcons (1-3) to complete the day one sweep with a 10-2 win.
 
GAME ONE: U-MARY vs ST. ANSELM COLLEGE
 
U-Mary took on St. Anselm for the first game of the spring trip and both teams were evenly matched through the first two innings as the Marauders' offense couldn't move runners around the bases, while MeLanie Rodriguez kept the Hawks off-balanced with a good mix of off-speed and rising pitches to force a 0-0 stalemate by the second inning.
 
The Marauders broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third as Alana Norman dropped down a quick bunt and stole second during Demaree Rodriguez's at bat, while a ground ball from Rodriguez allowed Norman to advance to third with only one out.
 
Taylor Mendez sent a hard shot through the left side of the infield to bring Norman home and ended up scoring herself on a ground ball single from Shawnee Zink with two outs to give U-Mary a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
 
The Hawks were baffled by the Rodriguez in the circle as MeLanie finished with five strikeouts on the day with only two runs given up. Meanwhile, the Marauders padded their lead in the top of the fourth when Colleen Crutchfield scored on a passed ball, and added three more runs to their total in the top of the fifth after another single from Zink brought in Mendez, Amber Gamboa scored on a throwing miscue from St. Anselm, and Lex Hubbard dropped down the perfect squeeze bunt to score Zink to put the Marauders comfortably ahead at 6-0.
 
St. Anselm wouldn't go down without a fight as Pattie Turner laced a one-out double to right field and was brought home on a Karoline Leavitt single to left center that got the Hawks on the board at 6-1. The Hawks added one more to their total as Julie LeClair reached on a ground ball single that fell in about five feet in front of Rodriguez in the circle and brought home Leavitt to cut the lead down to 6-2.
 
MeLanie fell back into her rhythm, however, as she struck out the final two batters of the inning to squelch any hopes of a rally, keeping the Marauders well out in front.
 
U-Mary added one final run to their total in the top of the sixth as Gamboa sent a liner to right center and the ensuing double scored Mendez from first base to put the score at 7-2. St. Anselm was unable to get the offense in gear as Rodriguez gave up only two hits to the final eight batters to close out the game and secure the first win for both her and her team at 7-2.
 
Four Marauders finished with multiple hits, led by Taylor Mendez who was a perfect 3-for-3, all singles, with one RBI and three runs scored. Colleen Crutchfield aslo finished with three hits, two doubles and a single, to go with one run in the game.
 
Amber Gamboa and Shawnee Zink each finished with two hits in the contest as Gamboa added one double, one RBI and one run scored, while Zink finished with two RBI and one run scored.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez took home the complete game win as she pitched all seven innings for U-Mary and finished with five strikeouts to one walk, 12 hits, and two earned runs.
 
GAME TWO U-MARY vs NOTRE DAME COLLEGE (OH)
 
The Marauders carried their offensive momentum into the second game of the day as they faced the Falcons immediately following the first game. Notre Dame opened up the scoring early with a sacrifice fly from Erin Calhoun that scored Nicole Spuhler, but Brieann Backes proved she would not fall into the same trap that would doom other freshman pitchers as she force a groundout to Maria Vanadia to end the scoring threat.
 
U-Mary's offense came to their pitcher's defense as Norman led off the bottom of the first with a double to the left center gap and made it home after Demaree singled to left field. It was an odd sequence of events as Demaree advanced to second on the throw back into the infield and as she drew the throw from the third baseman, Norman ended up advancing home to tie the game at 1-1 with no outs.
 
Mendez ensured there would be no strange series of events as she simply sent a pitch from Alexis Burke over the left center field fence for a 3-1 U-Mary lead, further cementing her big bat status.
 
The Marauders got another run as Crutchfield reached on a fielder's choice and ended up scoring on a Kylie Alto double down the left field line, and Alexandra McDermott added one more in the inning with a slap single to the third baseman and beat the throw that allowed Alto to score, putting the scoreboard at 5-1 in favor of U-Mary.
 
Alto padded the Marauder's lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the second as she cleared the bases with a two-run double to centerfield that one-hopped to the fence and brought in Zink and Gamboa, while Backes befuddled the Falcon offense with a good mix of pitches both in an off the plate.
 
U-Mary got another run in the bottom of the fourth when McDermott sent a hotshot groundball through the left side to bring in Zink who reached on a leadoff double to centerfield, but the Falcons finally found a scoring combination in the top of the fifth when Shelby Stephens doubled to right field and brought in Brittany Reising who was pinch running for Nicole Paolucci, putting the score at 8-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
 
Mendez single-handedly put the cushion back at seven runs as she sent her second homerun of the day, this time a solo shot, over the left field fence to put the score at 9-2, and the Marauders put a stop to any hopes of a comeback in the bottom of the sixth as Demaree singled to the right center gap and brought home Hubbard to end the game at 10-2.
 
Eight Marauders all recorded multiple hits in the game, led by Amber Gamboa and Alana Norman who each finished with three hits, as Gamboa added one double, and one run scored, while Norman ended up with one double, one run scored, and one RBI.
 
Taylor Mendez finished with two hits, both homeruns, with three RBI and two runs scored in the contest. Kylie Alto finished with two hits, both doubles, with three RBI and one run scored, while Alexandra McDermott recorded two RBI on two hits to power the offense.
 
Demaree Rodriguez recorded the only other RBI in the game and also finished with two hits, while Shawnee Zink and Lex Hubbard also recorded two hits to round out the multi-hit Marauders on the afternoon.
 
Brieann Backes earned the complete game for the first collegiate win of her career, with three strikeouts, no walks, two runs allowed and six hits given up in 26 batters faced.
 
The Marauders continue their Florida trip tomorrow as they take on Lourdes University starting at 12 PM CDT, followed by a game against Grace College starting at 2 PM CDT.
 
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