Ripon, WI- Heading into Saturday's action, the Mount Mary softball team knew they had a four-game weekend against two very tough opponents, the University of Chicago and Ripon College. The Blue Angels defeated Ripon College in game one on Sunday, and dropped the other three contests.
In game one Saturday against the University of Chicago, Brianna Lupa, was once again strong in the pitching circle. The only scoring for the host Maroons came in the bottom of the 1st, when Madeline Murphy cracked a three-run homer for the University of Chicago. That would be the game's only scoring. Brianna Ecker had a double for MMU, but the Angels could not score a run on three hits for the contest.
Game 2 against UChicago would not be as close. After falling behind 3 runs again in the first, Mount Mary came back with a run on a rbi hit by Ecker, scoring Marissa Heraly. This would be the only run for the Angels as they fell in game 2 by a 9-1 score. Lillian Fay also had a hit in game two against the Maroons.
Sunday, the Blue Angels traveled to Ripon College to take on the Red Hawks. Mount Mary plated a run in the top of the second to claim a 1-0 lead. The top of the 3rd proved to be a productive inning for Mount Mary, Marissa Heraly stepped up with the bases loaded and delivered a 2 run single, putting the Blue Angels up 3-0. A Naomi Gomez rbi groundout and bases loaded walk by Fay would extend the lead to 5-0 in favor of MMU.
Brianna Lupa would do the rest, holding the Ripon offense in check, as Mount Mary won game 1 by a 6-2 final. It was Lupa's 8th win in the circle on the season.
In game 2, Ripon struck early with 3 runs in the bottom of the 2nd. They scored three more in the second, for a 5-0 lead, MMU scored a lone run in the 4th, but could not come all the way back and fell by a score of 5-1.
The game one win over Ripon was the 10th for Mount Mary on the season. This victory guaranteed the 2023 team the third winningest season in the modern era of MMU softball (dating back to 2010). It also marks the first time the softball team has won double digit games in back to back seasons in the modern era. Mount Mary won 14 games last season, which tied the program record for single season victories.
Head Coach Perry Clark on the weekend, "We had moments of very solid defense with a couple of errors mixed in. Our overall approach at the plate and contact was great, we just needed to come through with some clutch hits with runners in scoring position. With the time off we have had, playing four games in two days showed by the end of Sunday."
The Blue Angels (10-25) have one doubleheader remaining on the 2023 campaign. On Monday, May 8th, Mount Mary will head to Alverno College for two games to conclude the season. The contests are scheduled for 4 and 6 pm and live coverage is available on www.mtmaryathletics.com
