SAINT PAUL, MINN.—The Hamline University softball team opened MIAC play with a Monday-afternoon bout at Saint Mary's (Minn.). A walk-off RBI-double doomed the Pipers in a 4-3 loss in game one, before they held on for a 6-5 victory over the Cardinals in game two.
Hamline moves to 7-8-1, 1-1 MIAC with the split, while Saint Mary's (Minn.) exits Monday with a 7-9 record.
Saint Mary's 4, Hamline 3
Four of the game's seven runs occurred in the first inning, where Hamline set the tone with a 3-0 lead. Back-to-Back singles from Josephine Cariveau and Gabby Cook put runners on first and second base for Abbey Herbert, who gave Hamline a 1-0 lead off an RBI single that scored Cariveau. Cook reached third on a wild pitch, and would make the score 2-0 off Savannah Johnson's groundout. Herbert widened the margin to 3-0 thanks to another wild pitch.
Riley Hall narrowed the Cardinals' deficit to 3-1 off a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. Saint Mary's accumulated four hits over the third and fourth innings, which resulted in a run in each frame that tied things up 3-3.
It took the Cardinals just three batters to notch their game-winning run in the seventh inning, which culminated in Ali French's RBI double to center field that scored Riley Hall (hit by pitch) and propelled her team to a 4-3 victory.
Hamline notched four hits in the game, led by Herbert's 2-for-3 outing that included a run scored and one RBI. Dana Rosbacka allowed nine hits and four runs over 6 1/3 innings of pitching work for Hamline while her counterpart Sarah Kraus surrendered four hits, three runs and notched three strikeouts for Saint Mary's.
Hamline 6, Saint Mary's 5
Gabby Cook's two-run home run in the third inning gave Hamline a 2-0 lead before the Cardinals responded with a trio of runs over the third and fourth innings that gave them a 3-2 edge.
Six of the game's 11 runs occurred in the seventh inning, but four of them came from Hamline in the top half of the frame. Kiana Island's two-run double, followed by RBI singles from Gabby Tuhy and Lydia Lecher made up the Pipers' four runs that gave them 6-3 lead.
Naleya Bork's two-run home run narrowed the Cardinals' deficit to 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh, but that was all they could muster.
Hamline registered 12 hits in the contest as Josephine Cariveau went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Raelyn Costley, Gabby Tuhy, and Gabby Cook each tallied a pair of hits for the Pipers.
Montana Miller and Sophie Stork combined to give up nine hits and five runs (four earned) in the circle for Hamline. Stork, who was credited with the pitching win, surrendered three hits and two runs over the final three innings. Bork allowed 12 hits and six runs in the complete-game pitching effort for Saint Mary's.
The Pipers will make the short trip to Macalester (DH) on Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m.
