HOLLAND, Mich. - Saint Mary's College Softball split their Saturday doubleheader with Hope College, taking game one 5-2 and falling in game two 13-1. The Belles move to 14-18 (3-5 MIAA) on the year while Flying Dutch move to 22-8 (5-3 MIAA).
 
Game One
Saint Mary's got things going offensively early on. In the top of the first, sophomore Talia Jorgensen (St. Paul, MN) led off the game with a walk before junior Allie Moss (Goshen, IN) singled to put two runners on. The two then pulled off a double steal, forcing the Hope catcher to sail a throw into left field, bringing Jorgensen in to score and allowing Moss to go to third. Two-batters later, freshman Isabelle Hochmuth (St. Louis, MO) reached on a fielding error by the first baseman after it bounced away from her glove, bringing Moss in to score and giving the Belles an early 2-0 lead.
 
The stolen base for Moss tied the program record for steals in a season, being her 21st of the season.
 
Both offenses stayed quiet throughout the majority of the game. The Belles threatened with back-to-back two out base runners before the Flying Dutch shut them down.  Hope had a batter reach base in each inning, but sophomore Aubrey Zachary (Granger, IN) stayed calm and got the Belles out of the innings. Hope had two runners on with two outs in the fourth inning, as it looked like Zachary was about to get out of the jam, a soft single through the left side brought one run in to score. A fielding error then brought another run in, tying the ball game 2-2 after four innings.
 
Saint Mary's bounced right back in the top of the fifth inning, after a leadoff single from Moss, Hochmuth stepped in with one out. Hochmuth launched a ball over the left center fence to double the Belles score and put them back on top, 4-2, with her eighth home run of the season.
 
The Belles tacked on another run in the top of the sixth, after a leadoff walk from sophomore Hunter St. Peter (Traverse City, MI) and a single from sophomore Lydia Hinga (Portage, MI), a sacrifice bunt from freshman Molly Ryan (Joliet, IL) and a ground out from Jorgensen moved the runners around and brought St. Peter in to score and extend the lead, 5-2.
 
Zachary shut the Flying Dutch down in the final three innings, sitting down the final ten batters she faced to secure the game one win, 5-2.
 
Hinga led the Belles going a perfect 3-3 on the afternoon. Moss added two hits of her own and scored twice while Hochmuth added one in the form of her two-run home run while also adding a team high two RBIs. The Belles drew six walks on the afternoon, St. Peter and Ryan both drew two each.
 
In the circle, Zachary earned her third win of the season, throwing a complete game. The sophomore allowed just four hits and one earned run on the afternoon while striking out five batters.
 
Game Two
Hope got the scoring started with an RBI single in the first inning to take a quick 1-0 lead. The Flying Dutch would add another run in the top of the second inning after back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, a groundout to the left side of the infield scored another run. They added another two runs in the third inning after an RBI double to take a 3-0 lead.
 
Saint Mary's bounced back in the bottom of the third, Jorgensen and Moss hit back-to-back two out singles to get the rally started. After Jorgensen advanced to third on the single, Moss would swipe second base, allowing Jorgensen to come in on a throwing error by the catcher, cutting the deficit to 3-1. 
 
Moss' stolen base was her second of the day, and 22nd of the season, setting a new program record for steals in a season.
 
After a leadoff walk and single, the Flying Dutch put up back-to-back RBIs from a single and double to extend their lead. They then added another run on a ground out to get out to a 6-1 lead.
 
In the top of the sixth, Hope would add seven more runs to extend their lead further before closing out the game with a 13-1 win.
 
Jorgensen led the team with two hits in the second game while scoring the lone run. 
 
In the circle, senior Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) was the pitcher of record, throwing two and two thirds total innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. Zachary made an appearance out of the bullpen, throwing two innings and allowing one run on three hits. Sophomore Ashlyn Yeo (Jackson, MI) made her first appearance of the day, throwing one and a third inning, allowing seven earned runs on five hits. Mikitka and Yeo both tallied a strikeout.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's returns home for their non-conference finale on Monday, April 20, as they host Anderson University at 3pm. The Belles then hit the road on Thursday, April 23, for a trip to Alma College.