WATERTOWN, Wis. – The Mount Mary University softball team split its Saturday double-header against newfound rival Maranatha Baptist University, falling 12-7 before responding with a 14-5 win in the nightcap.
Both squads' offenses were on display in the twinbill, as the two teams combined for 38 runs on 43 hits in 12 innings of play.
Mount Mary (3-21) got hits from six different players Saturday with five recording multiple hits.
Sophomore Nicole Weggen (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) went 4-for-5 at the plate with three walks recorded to go with a double, an RBI and four runs scored. Junior Katie Edwards (Mackinaw, Ill.) belted two homeruns and adding a double in a 3-for-5 showing Saturday, tallying four RBI, five runs scored and being intentionally walked twice.
Freshman Lauren Wiech (Colgate, Wis.) went a perfect 4-for-4 in game two, with a double, four RBI and three runs scored. Senior Katie Wolk (Oshkosh, Wis.) recorded three hits on the day while sophomore Shandrieka Richardson (Atlanta, Ga.) added two and freshman Harmony French (Amherst, Wis.) added one to her accolades.
Some gloomy weather seemed to dampen the spirits of the Blue Angels in game one, as they struggled to get much going on either side of the ball. A handful of mental errors and failing to get the timely RBI put Maranatha up 5-0 after the first two innings.
The Blue Angels would respond though with two runs in the third on RBI hits from Wolk and Weggen, and would take a 6-5 lead after the top of the fourth. Richardson scurried home on a wild pitch and Edwards knocked a 3-RBI deep blast over the left field fence to assume control.
That control was short-lived as four singles scored two runs for Maranatha (2-12) in its half of the inning. The Crusaders added two more in the fifth and got the kill-shot in the sixth with three more scores to put the game away.
Late in game one, some very intimidating weather rolled through the Watertown area and with it seemed to amp up the energy in Mount Mary's dugout.
The Blue Angels responded in game two with two early runs in the first inning—both coming on a Wiech double to score Weggen and Edwards. However, Maranatha took the lead in its home half of the inning with three runs of its own.
Still chasing a one-run deficit, Mount Mary exploded for seven runs in the third inning on hits from Wiech and Richardson, a sacrifice fly by sophomore Tracy Boutell (Brown Deer, Wis.) and RBI-walks issued to French and sophomore Michelle Argenzio (Brookfield, Wis.). Thirteen total batters saw at least one pitch in the inning, despite a rather bizarre ending.
After the third pitch of an intentional walk issued to Edwards, Richardson stole home on a routine toss back to the pitcher—it was Richardson's second stolen base of the day. Wolk, who had safely stolen third, started returning to second base from whence she came but was tagged out trying to slide back into third.
Despite a strange circumstance, the Blue Angels had taken full control of the game and added two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to secure the run-rule victory.
The Blue Angels will enjoy a three-day break before a three-day series of double-headers next week. Mount Mary will play its home-away-from-home rival Wisconsin Lutheran College Wednesday before hosting Dominican University (Ill.) and Cardinal Stritch University at Kulwicki Park Thursday and Friday, respectively. All three double-headers are scheduled for 3 p.m. starts.
