The (RV) AQ softball team played its first home doubleheader of the season against (RV) Saint Xavier University today (Mar. 20). Aquinas picked up two more wins today in its nonconference matchups at the CU Softball Field. The Saints won the first game of the doubleheader by way of mercy in a 9-0 victory and the second game in epic comeback fashion, winning 9-8. AQ has now won twenty games this season with an impressive 20-4 record.

GAME 1: Aquinas 9, Saint Xavier 0

The Saints were all over the Cougars to start the game and never let up. The bottom of the first inning started off with a bang, as Courtney Hardin would get walked and immediately steal second base. Leah Vaughan would get walked next, putting runners on first and second with Izzy Dawson coming up to the plate. Dawson would smack the ball into the left center gap for a double, advancing Vaughan to third and scoring Hardin.

Jordan Humitz would follow suit with a nearly identical hit to score Vaughan and Dawson with a double of her own. With that hit, AQ was up 3-0 early and forced a Cougars pitching change before she could record an out. Two batters later, Emma Houseman would walk to place runners on first and second again. Carson Henrickson would advance both runners with a single up the middle of the infield. Darrien Roberts would score two more with a two RBI single to left field. Haley Myers would then score Roberts on the next at bat with another single to left field. Just like that, the Saints were up 6-0 after batting through the entire lineup in just the first inning.

Aquinas would score a few more runs to bring the score to the eight-run mercy limit. Houseman would cross the plate in the third inning off of an error. Humitz would smack another double in the fourth inning and Ashley Snyder would pinch run for her and score on the next at bat. Houseman would cross the plate for the third time this game later in the inning to take a 9-0 lead.

The other major storyline in the first game was the phenomenal pitching from Kayla Fessenden. Fessenden took a perfect game into the top of the fifth inning before giving up two hits. She threw a complete game shutout with two strikeouts and no walks as she improved to 8-1 on the season.

Hendrickson was a perfect three-for-three at the plate while Roberts would lead the team in RBIs for the game with three off of her two-RBI single in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth.

GAME 2: Aquinas 9, Saint Xavier 8

The second game of the doubleheader was a much closer contest between the two sides. The Cougars would score the first run in the top of the second inning and the Saints would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Hendrickson would stay hot and hit a two-RBI double into the right center gap. This hit would score Humitz, who doubled to start the inning, and Kaelyn Stafford, who walked.

Saint X would come back with an answer of its own the next inning with a two out bomb to take the lead again. Aquinas would, again, answer back as Dawson and Humitz would hit back-to-back solo home runs to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third frame. However, yet again, Saint Xavier would answer with a three-run half inning in the fourth to hold a 6-4 advantage over the Saints. The lead had already changed five times in just four innings.

The Cougars would finally hold Aquinas without a run in the bottom of the fourth and would follow that with another run scored in the top of the fifth inning. Both sides would tighten up on defense as the Cougars would hold a 7-4 advantage heading into the seventh inning. SXU would score one more run to take a commanding 8-4 lead with three outs left to play.

Aquinas wasn't quite done yet. Hendrickson reached first to start the inning off of a fielding error by the third baseman. Roberts would smash a double to left center to put runners on second and third with no outs. Snyder would hit a single into the infield gap on the left side to score Hendrickson and place runners on first and second, still with no outs. Taylor Charon would pop out to the second baseman, followed by a walk from Emily Cline to load the bases with just one out.

Dawson would answer the call with a two-RBI single to left center with the score now 8-7 in favor of SXU. With a one-run advantage and runners on first and second, the Cougars would make a pitching change to save the game. Humitz would immediately hit a blooper to left field and Cline would get sent home in an attempt to tie the game, but the center fielder would make a great throw to get the out. Aquinas now had just one out left to go.

Breanne Adamczak would get a single to load the bases with two outs left to play. Kim Sosnowski would be the one to determine the game for the Saints. With three balls, two strikes, and two outs, Sosnowski would hit the ball up the middle of the infield into the gap between the shortstop and second base. The shortstop would field the ball, but rather than flipping the ball to the second baseman, she would attempt to take it herself. Adamczak would beat the throw and the shortstop would attempt to throw the ball to second base once it was too late. The throw would go astray, resulting in two runs scored for the Saints to complete a five-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Vaughan, Christyona Arballo, Nina Bennett, and Grace Maguire would all spend time in the circle for the Saints this game. Maguire would be credited with the win after entering the game in the top of the seventh inning.

The Saints will look to remain hot with a road doubleheader against the Rochester University Warriors next weekend (Mar. 26). Aquinas will play another doubleheader the following day (Mar. 27) against Concordia.