Melbourne, Fla. – The AQ softball squad continued to play well down in Florida today with another tripleheader. Aquinas took two of the three games to improve to 6-2 in Florida and 12-2 overall this season.
In the second game against Hannibal-LaGrange,
Courtney Hardin walked in the third inning to break Ashley Aspinall's record for career walks. Hardin has now seen 89 walks in her career and stands alone at the top of the all-time list.
Game 1: Montreat 2, Aquinas 0
The Saints won in pretty much every category but lost in the score column. Aquinas put runners in scoring position in the first, third, and sixth innings with a total of seven hits, but just couldn't quite string enough hits together to bring anyone across the plate.
Sophia Pavese pitched all seven innings in the circle and allowed just four base runners all game (two hits, one walk, and one error). Unfortunately for AQ, Montreat put together two hits in the third to score one run and a home run in the fourth to score its second. Those two runs were the only runs scored over the game.
Hardin led the team in batting, going two-for-three at the plate.
Game 2: Aquinas 10, Hannibal-LaGrange 0 (5 Innings)
Aquinas began the scoring party in the third inning after walks from
Jessica Dobias and Hardin put runners on first and second. That Hardin walk was the aforementioned walk that set Aquinas record book history.
Alexa Kownacki hit a single to bring Dobias home for the first run of the game.
The fourth inning is when the floodgates opened for the Saints. Hits from
Jaden Delchambre,
Kenzie Jordan,
Sydney VanDerHaegen, and Dobias gave AQ two runs to start the inning.
Emma Houseman then reached on a fielder's choice when the Trojans couldn't beat VanDerHaegen home. A
Jaden Benschoter double on the ensuing at-bat had Aquinas up 6-0.
AQ still was not done in the fourth frame.
Ashley Snyder singled and
Elizabeth Haunhorst singled right after to bring two more runs home for an 8-0 lead.
With the mercy already locked up, Aquinas made the score 10-0 after RBIs from Benschoter and Kownacki.
Sydney Bosgraaf got her first collegiate win after four scoreless innings. She allowed just two hits and struck out three.
Leah Vaughan came in and finished out the last inning with three strikeouts to complete the combined shutout.
Game 3: Aquinas 3, Clarke 2 (8 Innings)
This low-scoring contest came down to the wire as no runs were scored until the sixth inning. The Clarke Pride strung together a pair of hits and then a wild pitch put the first run on the board.
Aquinas immediately responded in the bottom of the sixth after
Emma Houseman walked and then stole second. Haunhorst hit a clutch single to left field to bring Houseman home to tie the game. The Saints then proceeded to load up the bases with just one out, but were unable to capitalize after a shallow flyout and a strikeout.
Six consecutive outs in the seventh put the game into extra innings. With a runner starting on second, the Pride took the lead after an RBI single, putting the pressure on AQ to respond.
An error from Clarke allowed the Saints to put runners on the corners to start the bottom of the eighth and then Dobias stole second to put two the winning run on second with no outs.
Another Pride error scored one run for the Saints to tie the game and put two runners in scoring position with no outs. However, Clarke picked up two quick outs with
Katie Carlson up to bat. With the game on the line, Carlson smoked a double to left field to walk it off in dramatic fashion.
Pavese came in relief of Maguire and earned her sixth win of the season after allowing just one hit. Maguire also pitched well, allowing just one unearned run herself with five punchouts.
By the Numbers
Outside of the 10-run outburst against Hannibal-LaGrange, it was a relatively quiet offensive day for AQ. Hardin, Carlson, Snyder, and Haunhorst all tallied a team-leading two hits.
In total, 13 different Saints picked up a hit over the three games.
Up Next
Aquinas has a quiet day tomorrow with just one game against Fitchburg State. That game is scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m.
