DAVENPORT, Iowa – The Mount Mary University softball team lost both games of their season-opening doubleheader today at the Ambrose Dome. The St. Ambrose University Fighting Bees (3-3) took the first game 8-0 in five innings then defeated the Blue Angels 9-1 in five innings for game two.
Taylor Hienbuecher (So./Sycamore, Ill.) went a perfect 2-for-2 from the plate in game one's 8-0 loss to the Fighting Bees. The sophomore hit a single in the first inning and moved teammate Adrianna Nester (Sr./Anaheim, Calif.) to second base before the end of the inning. Her second single was the sole hit of the fourth inning.
Nester got the start at center field in the team's opener. The senior outfielder went 1-for-2 from the plate in game one. Her hit came in the first inning.
Hayley Smalley (Sr./Columbus, Ind.) got the start at pitcher in game one for MMU. Smalley went 4.0 innings and surrendered eight runs, four earned, off 10 hits. The senior hurler faced 25 batters in game one.
In the 9-1 loss to St. Ambrose University, Hienbuecher came through again on offense. Getting the start as catcher in game two, the sophomore backstop went 1-for-2 from the plate in the second game. Hienbuecher collected MMU's lone RBI of the day in the first inning when she grounded out to second base while scoring teammate Haley Jacquez (Sr./Oakley, Calif.).
Jacquez went 1-for-2 from the dish as well. The senior outfielder led off game two with a single, then picked up right where she left off in 2019 and stole second the very next batter. After moving to third on a wild pitch, last year's team leader in steals and hitting average scored MMU's first run of the 2020 season after Hienbuecher's RBI.
Senior Hannah Harnsberger (Hillsboro, Ore.) started at pitcher in game two and finished 4.0 innings against St. Ambrose. Harnsberger gave up nine earned runs off 12 hits. In her first game of the season, the senior pitcher logged one strikeout as well.
In the first game of the season, the Blue Angels tried to snap back into regular season form. In a rough first inning, the Blue Angels were guilty of three errors which resulted in five unearned runs in addition to one earned run.
SAU added runs in the second and third innings. Both runs came earned, however, the Blue Angels flashed some leather after a single and double scored a run and threatened to lead to a bigger inning. Lauren Nylund (So./Muskego, Wis.) threw out the second out from right field when she connected with catcher Haley Johnson (Sr./Germantown, Wis.).
In the second game, the Blue Angels tallied the first run of the game in top half of the first. A groundout to second by Hienbuecher helped push across senior Haley Jacquez for the team's first run of the season.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Fighting Bees scored five runs off six hits. A pair of doubles by St. Ambrose in the first gave the Fighting Bees a 5-1 lead going into the second.
After adding a run in the second inning, the Fighting Bees stretched their lead out to 8-1 in the third. An error in the field led to the Bees taking some better base running position, but three hits in the inning helped SAU add to their lead.
The Fighting Bees added their last run of the day after a one-out double got the team's offense going. After the extra base hit, the Fighting Bees laced a single to center field and made the score 9-1 where it ended.
MMU Softball (0-2) continues their season this Mon. Feb. 24 when they head to Rockford, Ill. to take on Beloit College. The mid-afternoon game begins at 3:00 PM, check back to MtMaryAthletics.com for more news and final scores.
