Grand Rapids, Mich. – The AQ softball team returned to action today (Apr. 3) after sweeping Siena Heights for two more conference wins yesterday (Apr. 2). The Saints were looking to remain undefeated in conference play today with two rescheduled games against Cornerstone. Early offense and more good pitching from
Leah Ash helped give AQ an 11-6 victory in the first game. The second game got underway but was suspended after one inning of play due to inclement weather.
Aquinas now improves to 22-9 on the season with a 5-0 WHAC record. The Golden Eagles fall to 10-11 with a 4-3 conference record. The second game of today's doubleheader will be resumed at a later date.
Izzy Dawson and
Leah Vaughan started the first inning with a pair of singles, but AQ couldn't quite manage to bring any runs across the plate in the first frame. Ash made quick work of Cornerstone in the bottom of the first with two lineouts and a strikeout for a one-two-three inning.
Carson Hendrickson started the second inning with a single to left field but was thrown out at second base on a fielder's choice play with
Jaden Delchambre's hit to second base.
Kaelyn Stafford and
Ashley Snyder followed that play with back-to-back singles to load the bases with just one out.
Courtney Hardin stepped into the box and hit the ball at the third baseman who committed an error. That error allowed Stafford and Delchambre to score with Snyder reaching third base. Hardin then swiped her WHAC-leading 24th bag of the season. She is an incredible perfect 24-24 on stolen base attempts this season.
Darrien Roberts remained hot on the ensuing at-bat as she ripped a double to center field to clear the bases and give AQ two more runs. The Saints ended the second inning with a 4-0 advantage.
The game quieted down a bit after AQ's four-run second inning with no more runs being scored until the bottom of the fourth inning. CU started the bottom half of the frame with two singles to place runners on first and second with no outs. Another single from the Golden Eagles and a fielding error from the Saints allowed the home team to pick up a run and place runners on the corners with no outs.
Ash managed to mitigate the damage with a pair of strikeouts and a good defensive play from Hendrickson to get the lead runner out at home. CU only managed to score that single run as AQ remained ahead 4-1.
Vaughan started the top of the fifth by getting on base after being hit by a pitch.
Alexa Kownacki doubled to left field in the next at-bat to score another run for AQ. Several batters later, Snyder hit an RBI single to left field to increase the lead to 6-1.
Cornerstone finally got to Ash in the bottom of the fifth and scored two runs to reduce the deficit to just three. Both pitchers settled in during the sixth inning with the score remaining at 6-3 heading into the seventh inning.
The Saints queued up an offensive explosion in the top of the seventh, scoring five runs to take an 11-3 advantage. Kownacki and Hendrickson started the inning with a pair of singles and were moved to second and third base after
Emma Houseman grounded out.
An RBI single from Stafford and a walk from Hardin gave AQ its seventh run and loaded the bases. Another clutch at-bat from Roberts resulted in a bases-clearing double to left center to give AQ a 10-3 advantage. Dawson walked up to the plate and hit a double herself to give AQ its fifth run of the inning.
Cornerstone got some offense going itself with a two-out rally resulting in three runs. However, an eventual flyout ended the game 11-6 in favor of AQ.
Ash ended the game with nine strikeouts while allowing eight hits and just two earned runs. This game gives Ash her 10th win of the season.
Roberts ended her two-hit game with five RBI after clearing the bases twice with two separate doubles to left center.
Aquinas returns to action on Wednesday (Apr. 5) for a doubleheader against Lawrence Tech at the CU Softball Field. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM.
