Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Saints battled for the top spot in the conference today (Apr. 25) with a doubleheader against (RV) Indiana Tech. Both the Saints and the Warriors entered the games with a 14-4 record in WHAC play.
Indiana Tech picked up a comeback victory in the first game in extra innings. The Warriors came back and won the second game with a 16-hit performance to sweep the series.
The Warriors effectively won the conference with today's result and now improve to 36-8 with a 16-4 conference record. The Saints moved to 31-15 with a 14-6 conference record. AQ currently resides in third place in the standings.
Game 1: Indiana Tech 4, Aquinas 3 (8 Innings)
Izzy Dawson got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning by hitting an absolute moon shot off the top of the Cornerstone scoreboard to take a 1-0 lead. That home run gives Dawson 29 career home runs and now ties her with Ashley Aspinall for the most home runs in AQ program history.
Indiana Tech immediately responded with a leadoff home run of its own in the top of the second inning to tie the game 1-1.
Darrien Roberts got in on the home run action in the bottom of the third frame as she hit her sixth homer of the year over the right-field wall.
Aquinas kept the bats going in the fourth inning as
Haley Myers started the bottom of the frame with a single into center field. Myers stole second and, two batters later,
Kaelyn Stafford ripped an RBI double into left-center to give AQ a 3-1 advantage.
Following Stafford's double, Indiana Tech brought its ace, Savannah Bravo, into the circle and she quickly retired the new two batters to move the game into the top of the fifth inning.
The Warriors got the bats working in the top of the fifth and tied the game following a pair of singles and a double.
Both teams settled in defensively following Tech's two runs in the fifth as neither side managed to drive a run across the plate through seven innings of play.
Indiana Tech finally broke the tie in the top of the eighth inning after an error, a pair of groundouts, and a single managed to drive a run home.
Bravo was dealing inside the circle against the Saints and that continued into the eighth inning. Bravo retired the side to give Tech the 4-3 win. Bravo retired 14 consecutive batters once she took over pitching duties.
Kayla Fessenden pitched all eight innings for Aquinas and recorded a season-high eight strikeouts. She gave up three earned runs and 10 hits over the course of the game.
AQ picked up six hits in the game with six different players earning one hit.
Game 2: Indiana Tech 9, Aquinas 1 (6 Innings)
Indiana Tech was the first to score in the second game in the top of the sixth inning. The Warriors managed to string together six singles against
Leah Ash to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning.
Tech doubled its score in the next inning as an error from Aquinas allowed the Warriors to clear the bases and score three more runs to claim a 6-0 advantage.
Aquinas got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third frame after
Jaden Benschoter walked and
Leah Vaughan singled to start the inning. Following the two base runners, Bravo returned to the circle to finish out the game.
McKenna Hinkle pinch ran for Benschoter and reached third and then home after a pair of fly balls into the outfield, but Bravo remained hot and retired three consecutive batters.
The Warriors continued to find gaps in the defense and added on another three runs between the fifth and sixth innings off of 16 total hits throughout the game. The game was called after the sixth inning with Tech holding a 9-1 lead.
Up next for the Saints is a doubleheader against UM-Dearborn tomorrow (Apr. 25). The two teams will resume the suspended game from Saturday in the top of the third at 3:30 PM with the doubleheader taking place at the Madonna Athletic Complex.
