BEMIDJI, Minn. - Running headlong into two dominant pitching performances, the University of Mary Softball team struggled to produce hits at the plate en route to a pair of losses to Bemidji State University this afternoon.
 
The Marauders (6-18, 0-5 NSIC) had no answer for Jessica Yost in game one against the Beavers (20-8, 3-2 NSIC) as they were limited to three hits in the game to an eventual 3-0 loss, and couldn't find any momentum against Jenna Massingill in game two and dropped the backend of the doubleheader at 6-0.
 
GAME ONE
 
Yost was working on a no-hitter through three innings when Taylor Mendez broke up the zero on the scoreboard with a single back up the middle with two outs in the top of the fourth. Amber Gamboa followed up with her single to left field, but the Marauder rally was cut short as Yost forced a popup from Shawnee Zink to end the scoring threat.
 
Meanwhile, the Beavers struck first in the bottom half of the opening inning when Kelsey McAllister sent a sacrifice fly to left field that brought in Jessica Burlingame for a 1-0 Bemidji State lead going into the second.
 
The Beavers added one more to their total in the bottom of the fourth as Erin Robson drove a pitch from MeLanie Rodriguez back up the middle to score Angie Roberts for a 2-0 Bemidj State lead, and got their final run in the bottom of the third as Yost helped herself to a run as Alayna Krejci grounded into a fielder's choice to set the score at 3-0.
 
MeLanie found a rhythm starting in the fourth inning as she held the Beavers to four hits through the rest of the game, but unfortunately had no help on the offensive end as Yost gave up what would her be final hit of the game in the top of the sixth to Alana Norman and finished the game with 11 Marauders retired on strikes, finalizing the score at 3-0.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez took the complete game loss as she went six innings with three strikeouts and surrendered nine hits.
 
GAME TWO
 
Alas, the Marauders' offensive woes would not be solved by the second game as Massingill finished with a similar stat line with the complete game win to go with nine strikeouts, two walks and surrendered seven hits to U-Mary.
 
Norman took matters into her own hands early in the game as she lead the contest off with a single to left field in the top of the first, stole second during Demaree Rodriguez's at bat, and stole third during Mendez's at bat to end up at third with two outs. Unfortunately, she was stranded at third during Gamboa's at bat as Massingill ended the inning with a strikeout to quell any scoring threat from the Marauders.
 
Brieann Backes matched her Bemidji State counterpart through the first three innings as she kept the Beavers scoreless and got some help from her defense to work out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the second inning after she struck out Krejci and forced a fielder's choice groundball from Megan Castor to prevent Lyndsey Peterson from scoring and ended the inning on a groundball from Mikayla Osterman to keep the contest at 0-0.
 
Though they were getting help from the defense, U-Mary's offense was still stymied by Massingill through the majority of the game as they eventually left 10 runners on base by contest's end. The same couldn't be said for Bemidji State, however, as they took advantage of the first Marauder miscue in the bottom of the fourth to extend the inning and capitalized with a bases-clearing double from Burlingame for a 3-0 lead for the home team heading into the fifth.
 
Bemidji State got two more in the bottom of the fifth on a single from Castor that brought in two more runs for a 5-0 lead and got their final run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Yost that scored Burlingame for the 6-0 final score.
 
U-Mary had their last gasp in the top of the seventh as Alexandra McDermott led the inning off with a single, but a fielder's choice groundball from Norman squelched any momentum as Massingill finished with the complete game win.
 
Shawnee Zink and Kylie Alto were a pair of bright spots for U-Mary as they both finished with two hits in the contest as Zink notched two singles to supplement Alto's single and double.
 
Brieann Backes took the loss as she went five innings, surrendered eight hits, five runs, two earned, and struck out two Beavers.
 
The Marauders will continue their road trip this weekend as they head south to take on the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday, April 2, with the doubleheader starting at 1 PM CDT.
 
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