Fort Wayne, Ind. - The Marian softball team fell in their doubleheader against Saint Francis. The Knights moved to 22-9 overall on the season and 14-8 in the Crossroads League after the loss.
Game 1 | Marian 7-8 Saint Francis (Ind.) | 9 Innings
Marian struck first in the top of the first inning with Abby Madere hitting a sacrifice fly into right field to score Abbey Hofmann. Saint Francis was able to quickly counter with a solo homerun into left field to bring the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first. Hofmann didn't let the Cougars keep the lead for long with an RBI single through the right side to score Lily Wendt and take the lead back. Saint Francis struck again with a solo home run into left field, followed by a sacrifice bunt to take the 3-2 lead over Marian in the bottom of the second.
The Cougars held the Knights scoreless in the third and fourth innings while scoring two more runs for themselves to increase their lead to three. In the top of the fifth, Marian picked up momentum with Delaney Rundle reaching first on an error by the shortstop to also allow Hofmann to score. Ally Malone was able to follow with a double into right center to score Rundle and bring Saint Francis' lead down to one. After holding the Cougars scoreless in the sixth inning, Hofmann singled into left field to score Mystic Means and Jaelyn Phillips and take the 6-5 lead.
Saint Francis was able to strike once more in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single to take the game into extra innings. After a pair of dry eight innings for each team, Mati Hughes was able to strike in the top of the ninth to score Madere and take the one-run lead. The Cougars tied the game up yet again, scoring off a fielder's choice to tie at seven apiece. Saint Francis finished off the game with an RBI single to take the 8-7 win over the Knights in game one.
In game one, Abbey Hofmann led the way, going 4-5 from the plate, recording three RBIs. Mati Hughes also recorded multiple hits, going 2-5 from the plate while recording one RBI. Abby Madere and Ally Malone each recorded one RBI. In the circle, Macy Coan took the start, pitching three innings, recording two strikeouts, and giving up six hits. Lexi Smith came in as relief, pitching the remaining 5.2 innings, recording three strikeouts, and giving up five hits in the loss.
Game 2 | Marian 3-8 Saint Francis
Marian started game two with Lily Wendt reaching first on an error by third base, scoring both Mati Hughes and Abby Madere, taking the 2-0 lead early in the top of the first. The Knights were able to keep the Cougars scoreless in the first inning, but Saint Francis was able to strike in the bottom of the second with a single into right field to score the runner.Â
The Knights were able to fire back, taking the two-run lead with an RBI groundout to shortstop from Hughes to score Madere. The Cougars were able to fire back with a pair of home runs and a pair of RBI singles to take the 6-3 lead over Marian in the bottom of the third. After a couple of dry innings, Saint Francis hit a two-run home run into right-center to extend their lead to five. Marian attempted to push back in the top of the seventh with Hofmann singling into left field with two outs, but Jaelyn Phillips wasn't able to outrun the groundout to third, ending the game with the 8-3 loss to the Cougars.
Abby Madere led the way in game two, going 2-3 from the plate, while Mati Hughes recorded the sole RBI in game two. In the circle, Alayna Tesnar took the start, pitching three innings, recording three strikeouts, and giving up eight hits. Katie Lackman came in as relief pitching for the last three innings, giving up three hits and striking out three batters.
The Knights look to bounce back in their double header against Spring Arbor on Saturday, April 11th, up in Michigan, with first pitch set for 3 PM.
MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos, and more.
