CLERMONT, FL – On a day runs were at a premium, defensive miscues cost the University of Mary softball team dearly in a pair of losses. The Marauders lost the opener to Ursuline College 3-2 in eight innings and fell 6-2 to the College of Saint Rose. The winning run for the Arrows came on a Marauders error and just two of the Golden Knights runs were earned.
Mary jumped out to a quick lead against Ursuline. Following a one-out single by
Rebekkah Keller in the top of the first,
Taylor Mendez parked a ball over the fence for her fifth home run of the season for a 2-0 Marauders lead. It was her 44
th career home run.
The Marauders were stymied offensively the rest of the game, despite several scoring opportunities. Mary produced at least one baserunner in every remaining inning. Five times over the next seven innings the Marauders had runners in scoring position but the Arrows found ways to keep Mary from scoring. In the sixth,
Hannah Holtz and
Madison McGonigal led off with singles but Arrows pitcher Brittany Humbel struck out the next three hitters.
Ursuline touched Briann Backes for single runs in the second and third innings. The sophomore hurler then shut down the Arrows offense the next four innings.
Using the international tiebreaking rule in the eighth inning,
Amber Gamboa was placed on second to start the inning but was thrown out at third on a grounder to the pitcher for the first out of the inning. The next two Mary hitters popped out to end the inning.
The Arrows took immediate advantage. Placed on second, Humbel was sacrificed to third and scored on a Marauders error to end the game.
Mendez finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a run scored and two RBIs. McGonigal added two hits.
Backes went the distance for the Marauders, allowing eight hits, two walks and two earned runs and struck out five in 7.1 innings.
Brigitte Snow and Sadie Jones both had two hits for Ursuline.
Humbel picked up the win in a relief effort. She pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out six.
Defensive issues followed the Marauders into game two against the Saint Rose Golden Knights. After the first two batters of the game were retired, a Mary error kept the inning alive and Saint Rose took advantage to score twice.
The Golden Knights tallied three times in the second, one on a throwing error and a second on a passed ball to take a 5-0 lead.
Mary used a walk and two singles to score a run in the bottom of the second, resulting in
Colleen Crutchfield scoring on a bases-loaded groundout by Jahner.
Both teams settled in to a pitching and defensive battle the remainder of the day. Mary threatened to score in the fourth but couldn't push across a run after loading the bases.
The two teams swapped runs in the sixth. After Saint Rose plated a run to move ahead 6-1, Gamboa homered to lead off the home half of the stanza. Mary threatened in the seventh after the first two hitters reached base but couldn't take advantage in the Marauders final opportunity of the day.
McGonigal posted two of the Marauders eight hits. Six other players had one hit each.
Jahner allowed one run in 5.1 innings of relief. She gave up five hits and two walks while striking out three.
Dana Nicoletti had three hits for the Golden Knights, scoring a drive and posting a run. She also pitched a complete game for the win.
The Marauders (4-13 overall) conclude their Florida swing with a pair of games on Sunday, March 5, taking on Walsh and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
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