The Saint Martin’s softball team steamrolled through The Spring Games in Bartow, Florida, this week with eight straight wins.
The Saints capped off the perfect trip with an 8-5 win over Hillsdale College and a 13-2 rout of Lake Erie Saturday.
In the opener against Hillsdale, Kaylee Walker continued her torrid start to the season by knocking in the first run on an RBI single in the first. Heather Ebner drove in a pair in the second with a double, and Walker added a second RBI in as many innings with another run-scoring single.
After a clean first two innings, Saints starting pitcher Kayla Vaughan allowed singles to the first two batters in the third and was replaced by Bridget Johnson with runners on second and third and two outs. Hillsdale converted with a two-run single to cut the lead to 4-2, but Johnson escaped the inning without any further damage.
The Chargers chipped away with a run in the fifth before Saint Martin’s tagged three runs in the sixth. Walker upped her total to three hits and four RBIs on a two-run single, and Layla Royle brought her home on an RBI double. A two-run homer by Hillsdale’s Ava Stripp made it 7-5 in the sixth, and Saint Martin’s put the game away in the seventh with an RBI by Haley Agena.
Five batters logged multiple hits for the Saints in the 8-5 win.
Against Lake Erie, the Saints continued their trend of torching teams in the first inning. By the time the Storm got the first out of the inning, Saint Martin’s already had a 4-0 lead with RBIs by Shelby Lawson, Ebner, Walker and Taylor Orgeles, and it even scored its fifth run on that first out with a sacrifice fly by Ava Heston. By the time the Saints had two outs, it was 9-0 and the middle of the lineup was batting for the second time in the frame.
Lawson had three RBIs in the first, driving in two more on a double. Overall, Saint Martin’s scored nine on seven hits, one error and four walks in the first.
The Saints blew the doors off Lake Erie in the third, taking a 13-0 lead with a four-run frame. Lake Erie managed to score two runs in the fifth before the game was called due to the large margin.
Saint Martin’s (15-11) will finally return home on Friday, March 20 for a double-header against Northwest Nazarene to kick off GNAC play.
