FORT MYERS, Fla – Today at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, the Mount Mary University softball team split their doubleheader giving the Blue Angels a record of 1-3 on the early season. The Blue Angels had two starkly different outcomes as they won game one 11-2 over Rivier University (1-3), then lost to New Jersey City College (3-1) by a score of 11-2.
MMU attacked early and often in game one against the Raiders. The Blue Angels capitalized off a leadoff error when newcomer Katie Arce (Fr./Cyrpress, Calif.) knocked in senior Jess Runge (Freedom, Wis.) with two outs. Continuing the two-out rally, Sidnee Turnage (Fr./Hesperia, Calif.) drilled another shot to the shortstop for an infield RBI single.
The Raiders answered back in the top of the third inning when starting pitcher Taylor Rowsell drilled the games only homerun to make things 2-1 Blue Angels.
MMU cooked up another run in their turn in the third with some savvy base running. With Arce at third base and Megan Shelley at first, Shelley baited the late throw from the Raider backstop as Arce broke for the plate to score making the game 3-1.
Starting Pitcher Hannah Harnsberger (Fr./Hillsboro, Ore.) walked in the Raiders final run of the game with bases loaded and two outs. The freshmen hurler got out of the jam with a timely infield popup to Runge.
MMU opened things up in the bottom of the fourth inning scoring on an Audrey Beck (Fr./Costa Mesa, Calif.) triple and then subsequently a passed ball. With a 5-2 lead headed into the fifth, MMU scored six unearned runs to end the game via the "run rule" and a final score of 11-2.
Harnsberger picked up her first collegiate win while Stephanie Norman (Fr./ Noblesville, Ind.) came on in relief to pick up her first save of the year.
Four Blue Angels finished game one with multiple hits and six of the ten starters contributed to the ten team hits.
Game two saw Adrianna Nester (Fr./ Anaheim, Calif.) take the circle for MMU. The New Jersey City College Knights led off with two quick hits, then a three-run homerun by Brittany Paulikas gave the Knights the early lead which they would not surrender thereafter.
MMU's offense received their biggest play off the bat of Megan Shelley when she singled to left field with the bases loaded. Shelley's single rallied two runs for MMU, but the Knights ended the rally shortly after and would score at least one run in their final three innings to take the win 11-2 after six innings.
Tomorrow's games will both have live stats available at mtmaryathletics.com. MMU will first take on Kenyon (2-5) at 8:00 am CST, then the Blue Angels will close out Tuesday's doubleheader with a 10:00 am showdown with Dominican University (5-3). For updates, new and scores keep a close eye on the Blue Angels home website.