Belles Fall to Ravens

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

ANDERSON, Ind. - The Saint Mary's softball team lost both ends of a non-conference doubleheader at Anderson University by 7-2 and 6-5 (9 innings) scores on Thursday.

In the opener, Saint Mary's struck in the top of the first inning when Emily Sherwood belted a triple and scored on an error with one out gone for the Belles.

The score remained 1-0 in favor of Saint Mary's until the bottom of the third when the Ravens had a two-out two-run home run for the 2-1 advantage.

The Belles tied the game up in the top of the sixth after Sherwood led off with a single and scored from second on a two-out double by Jillian Busfield.

Anderson, however, would push across five runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth for the 7-2 lead heading into the final inning. Saint Mary's went down in order in the top of the seventh to fall by that five-run margin in the opener.

Emily Sherwood went 3-for-3 and scored both of the Belles' runs in game one. Sarah Callis added a multi-hit effort with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.

Callie Selner suffered the loss in the circle with seven earned runs on 12 hits, seven strikeouts, and a walk.

Game two saw the Belles battle their way back into the game after trailing 4-0 after four complete innings. Jillian Busfield got the Belles on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the top of the fifth. Saint Mary's cut the lead to just two runs in the top of the sixth when Ashley Watkins, who reached on an error, scored from second base on a double by Emily Sherwood.

The Belles knotted the game at 4-4 in the top of the seventh with four consecutive hits to lead off the inning. Callie Selner singled, Jillian Busfield doubled to drive in Selner, Sarah Callis singled, and Kayla Chapman drove in Busfield with a single of her own to keep the game alive for Saint Mary's.

The Belles forced the Ravens to strand a runner on second in the bottom of the seventh to push the game into the eighth.

With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Angela Dainelli scored after Victoria Connelly sacrifice bunted her to third and Emily Sherwood tallied a sacrifice fly. Anderson scored their runner from second base in the bottom half of the frame to send the game to the ninth inning.

After the Belles came up empty-handed in the top of the inning, the Ravens ended the game with a sacrifice bunt and a single in the bottom of the ninth to score their runner from second.

Callie Selner, Jillian Busfield, and Kayla Chapman all had multiple hits in the nightcap for the Belles. Busfield drove in a pair and scored twice with a double and a home run. Sarah Burke was handed the loss in game two after allowing just one earned run over 8.1 innings of work with three walks and seven strikeouts. The Ravens scored four of their six runs after four Saint Mary's errors in the game.

The Belles (8-8) open up conference play this Saturday as they host Albion for an MIAA doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.