Beloit, WI- On Saturday, April 1st, the Mount Mary softball team knocked off the Prairie Fire of Knox College in extra innings for the second time during the 2023 season. The Blue Angels picked up a 5-1 win in the first game of the doubleheader against Knox. It would be the highlight of the weekend for Mount Mary as the Blue Angels dropped their other three contests.
In Game 1 against Knox, Brianna Lupa was her usual dominant self in the pitching circle, going all eight innings, striking out nine to go with only 3 hits allowed. It was her fifth win of the season.
The game was tied going to the 8th inning, the Blue Angels would stage a 4-run rally to take the extra inning victory. Marissa Heraly had a key run scoring double, Crystal Peterson, Brianna Ecker, Sam Allen and Elise DeGraef all contributed to game winning rally. The 5-1 victory was the fifth win for Mount Mary on the season and the fourth to occur in extra innings.
Game two against Knox was a low scoring affair. Elise DeGraef and Mary DeFore did a fine job pitching, holding Knox to only 2 runs. Unfortunately, the Blue Angels were only able to plate one run and fell by a 2-1 margin. Naomi Gomez paced the Mount Mary offense with two hits in three at bats.
The Blue Angels would hit the road once again on Sunday, April 2nd. Taking on the Buccaneers of Beloit College, MMU pounded out seven hits in game one, but left eleven runners on base. Brianna Lupa was only scored upon in one inning, but the 5 runs for Bucs in the 3rd (3 unearned) were enough for Beloit to win 5-0. Crystal Peterson and Sam Allen each had two hits for Mount Mary in game one against Beloit.
Game 2 saw Beloit storm out to a big lead early against Mount Mary. After four innings, Beloit held a 17-2 advantage. Mount Mary would not give up however, plating 5 runs in the top of the 5th, bringing the game's final score to 17-7. Taylor Hames had two hits for Mount Mary on the game.
Head Coach Perry Clark reflected on the weekend's four games, "We need to start producing offensively, otherwise it will be difficult to reach some of the goals we set for our season. One of our biggest issues is we continue to leave runners in scoring position."
Mount Mary (5-18) is scheduled to be in action next on Friday, April 7th, when they will travel to Lisle, Illinois to take on Benedictine University in a doubleheader. Stay tuned to www.mtmaryathletics.com for all schedule updates and softball coverage.
