Melbourne, Fla. – The Saints played a tripleheader today (Mar. 9) on their first day of the Space Coast trip. AQ battled against No. 10-ranked Marian, Bethel, and Saint Francis. The day started with AQ pulling off a massive upset against Marian, handing them its first loss of the season. Aquinas then ran past Bethel to extend its win streak to eight games.

In the final game of the day, AQ took on Saint Francis and had a bit of a hiccup. An abnormally rough day fielding for the Saints helped result in an 8-0 loss to give Aquinas its first loss of the season and end the win streak at eight.

After the first day in Florida, AQ holds an 8-1 record – trailing only Madonna in the conference.

Game 1: Aquinas 5, #10 Marian 1

The Saints got the jump start they needed against one of the best teams in the country. In the top of the first inning, McKenna Hinkle singled to the infield gap and then Hardin ripped a double to send her home. A Katie Carlson single brought Hardin home for a quick 2-0 lead.

Sophia Pavese got the start in the circle and forced three quick outs to keep AQ ahead.

AQ added another three runs in the top of the fourth after a few quiet innings. A Knights error and singles from Kaelyn Stafford and Carson Hendrickson loaded the bases with no outs. Leah Vaughan hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Haley Myers home. Then, an RBI groundout from Elizabeth Haunhorst and a Kim Sosnowski single gave AQ five runs to Marian's zero.

Marian brought in a consolation run in the bottom of the sixth frame, but AQ walked off the field with a massive upset win over the number 10 team in the NAIA.

Pavese improved to a 4-0 season after allowing just one run over five innings. Grace Maguire took over in the sixth and put up a bunch of zeros to help give Aquinas the win.

Game 2: Aquinas 7, Bethel 1

Once again, AQ was the first to score after Hendrickson hit an RBI single to center field in the top of the second. Hinkle followed that up with a single of her own and then a sacrifice fly from Sosnowski gave the Saints a two-run lead.

The Saints kept the scoring going over the subsequent two innings. Darrien Roberts hit a leadoff triple and Myers hit her home for the third run of the game. Roberts hit an RBI single in the fourth inning and then hits from Ashley Snyder and Myers had the Saints up six-to-zero.

Bethel finally brought in a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but a McKayla Mott triple scored Emma Houseman to maintain a six-run advantage.

The game ended with the score still at 7-1. Vaughan moved to 2-0 on the season after starting in the circle. The senior combined with Mott for a one-run game and allowed just six combined hits.

Game 3: Saint Francis 8, Aquinas 0 (5 Innings)

The final game of the day went by fast as Cougars struck first in the third inning. Saint Francis scored five runs on four hits and an error to take a five-run lead. That lead became eight in the fifth inning after a series of errors allowed SFU to bring three runs across the plate, cutting the game short by mercy.

AQ's powerhouse offense stalled in this game, as the Cougars managed to throw a five-inning no-hitter.

By the Numbers

Myers led the team with four hits today while Roberts, Hardin, and Hendrickson all had three. Hardin played a massive role in the game against Marian, going 3-4 at the plate with an RBI.

Sosnowski and Myers each had a team-leading two RBIs while Roberts, Hardin, Vaughan, Hendrickson, Carlson, Mott, Snyder, and Haunhorst all knocked in a run.

Prior to losing to Saint Francis, Aquinas outscored its opponents 69-17 over the eight-game winning streak.

Up Next

The Saints will look to get right back into the win column with two more games tomorrow (Mar. 10). AQ takes on Mount Mercy, whom they have already beaten twice, at 2:30 p.m. and Webber International at 4:45 p.m.