CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (April 11) - The Saint Vincent softball team dropped both ends of a Presidents' Athletic Conference road doubleheader to Thomas More College. The Saints outlasted the Bearcats by a 9-7 score in game one before claiming game two by a 6-2 margin.
Game 1 Recap - Thomas More 9, Saint Vincent 7
Game one was an offensive battle, as the Saints and Bearcats combined for 16 runs on 23 hits. The host Saints got on the board first with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. Both runs were unearned after Thomas More took advantage of a Saint Vincent error that extended the inning.
The Saints tacked on another run in the bottom of the third to make it 3-0.
Shelby Noel slugged a solo home run in the top of the fourth to open up the scoring for the Bearcats. The Saints stretched the lead to 5-1 after a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth.
Saint Vincent tried to chip away in the fifth when
Lauren Miller singled home
Courtney Patterson to make the score 5-2.
Alona Sleith drew an RBI walk to score
Rachel Harenchar, bringing the Bearcats within a pair at 5-3. Thomas More extended the lead to 9-3 after a pair of runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
The Bearcats refused to go quietly, mounting a furious comeback attempt in the top of the seventh. Saint Vincent plated four runs in the inning. Noel started the comeback with an RBI double.
Emily Duerr, Patterson and
Morgan Rittenhouse all added RBI singles to cut the Saints' lead to 9-7. However, that was as close as Saint Vincent would get as Thomas More escaped with the victory.
Noel paced the offense with two hits, including her third home run of the season. Patterson went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Duerr added a two-hit effort.
Duerr took the loss in the circle, allowing nine runs (five earned) on 12 hits in six innings pitched. The senior lefty struck out three Saints.
Game 2 Recap - Thomas More 6, Saint Vincent 2
Both pitchers were able to keep the respective offenses in check for a good part of game two. Thomas More finally broke out in the fifth inning when they used a two-run home run to take the lead. After an error continued the inning, the Saints made the Bearcats pay by adding two more home runs in the inning to extend the lead to 6-0.
Noel would tally her second solo blast of the day and fourth home run of the season to make the score 6-1 in the sixth.
Erica Smiley singled home
Morgan Murphy in the seventh inning to complete the scoring.
Riley Assalone took the loss, dropping her record to 6-1 for the season. Assalone allowed six runs (only two earned) on nine hits in six innings of work. The freshman struck out one and walked none.
With the sweep, defending PAC champion Thomas More has now won 29 straight games against PAC opponents.
Saint Vincent drops at 14-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play. Thomas More improves to 16-12 overall and 8-0 in league action.
The Bearcats will look to bounce back when they hit the road to face Grove City in a PAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 14. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
