ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Mount Mary University softball team lost both games of their doubleheader today at the Rochester Dome Tournament. The Blue Angels lost game one to St. Scholastica College 5-4 in eight innings then lost game two 8-0 to Northwestern University in five innings.
Adrianna Nester (Sr./Anaheim, Calif.) started at pitcher in the first game. Nester went a full 8.0 innings and gave up five runs, two earned runs, off nine hits. The senior pitcher also struck out six batters in Saturday's opening game.
Three different Blue Angels had multi-hit games against the Saints. Hitting in the second spot in the order, Haley Jacquez (Sr./Oakley, Calif.) went 2-for-4 in game one with a run scored.
Teammate Brianna Ecker (Fr./Fond du Lac, Wis.) also went 2-for-4 against St. Scholastica. Ecker had a pair of singles and an RBI in the 5-4 loss to the Saints.
Haley Johnson (Sr./Germantown, Wis.) got the start at catcher in game one. The MMU backstop also went 2-for-4 from the plate. Johnson logged a pair of singles and an RBI during game one.
After giving up two early runs to the Saints in the first inning, the Blue Angels continued to attack their opponent while at the plate. After a single by Johnson and an E9 that pushed the backstop to third base, a sacrifice bunt by Lauren Nylund (So./Muskgeo, Wis.) MMU made the score 2-1.
Headed into the seventh inning, the Blue Angels trailed by one run. Following a leadoff line out, Hannah Harnsberger doubled to left center. Harnsberger scored the tying run when Johnson singled up the middle with two outs.
After MMU came from behind in late in the seventh inning, the Saints came back in the top of the eighth inning and scored three runs. A lead off walk followed by an outfield error by the Blue Angels started the three-run inning for the Saints.
MMU scored their extra-inning runner when Brianna Ecker delivered a pinch-hit RBI single. The Blue Angels were able to score the fourth run on a fielding miscue by the Saints, but left a runner stranded at the end of the game.
Hannah Harnsberger (Sr./Hillsboro, Ore.) got the start in the circle in game two. The senior hurler went 4.0 innings against the Eagles surrendering eight runs, four earned runs, off 12 hits and three walks.
Newcomer Brianna Ecker (Fr./Fond du Lac, Wis.) finished the second game with a 1-for-1 performance at the plate. Harnsberger went 1-of-2 at the dish to help MMU's offense in the second game.
Harnsberger and the MMU defense limited the Eagles to just five hits in the first three innings of play. In the third inning, the Eagles took the lead after back-to-back doubles put a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. Harnsberger was able to mitigate the damage by allowing only one run in the inning.
The Eagles scored seven runs in the fourth inning. Northwestern led off the inning with their first batter getting hit by the pitch. After seven hits and one error in the inning, the Eagles would go on to score four unearned runs in addition to three earned runs to take an 8-0 lead. MMU could not come up with a score in the top half of the fifth so the game ended 8-0.
After today, the Blue Angels will return to action tomorrow for a pair of games at the Rochester Dome. MMU's first of two games begins at 4:00 PM. Check Out MtMaryAthletics.com for scores and updates following the games.
