SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Indiana University South Bend softball continued its hot streak sweeping St. Francis on Sunday, April 25 earning its first win over the Fighting Saints since 2018 when the Titans beat St. Francis 2-1 in the opening round of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
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Game One: IUSB 6, USF 2
The Titans tallied six hits to the Fighting Saint's seven in the first game. Junior
Brittany VanderBrink led the offense who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Junior counterpart
Mackenzie Myars went 1-for-3 with a double and a game-high two RBIs.
Senior
Becca Stevens went all seven innings in the circle, striking out two and allowing seven hits.
IU South Bend scored one in the first off a
Savanna Schmitz RBI double to right center as senior
Shelby Baker came across home plate. St. Francis evened things up after two scoreless innings with a run in the top half of the fourth frame.
Senior
Haylie Williamson ripped a leadoff single in the bottom half of the fifth to get the Titan offense rolling. Williamson would eventually score after VanderBrink roped an RBI single to right field. Myars followed that up with a two-run double, pushing the Titan lead to three.
IU South Bend added two more in the fifth to make the score 6-1 after five innings. VanderBrink and
Kat Bessler added the insurance runs off a wild pitch and a pop fly.
St. Francis got a run back in the top of the sixth but Stevens remained strong in the circle, forcing a ground out to second to end the game and seal the 6-2 victory for the Crimson and Cream.
Game Two: IUSB 8, USF 6
IU South Bend rallied ten hits in the second game bringing eight runners home compared to eight hits and six runs for USF. Leading the offense for the Titans was
Kaylee Darnell going 2-for-2 and a game-high three RBIs. Freshman
Olivia Zarantonello followed behind going 2-for-3 with two RBIs of her own.
Aly Brickel gets the win striking out four batters allowing six runs on eight hits.
The Titans got the offense rolling in the first scoring four runs starting with an
Emily Anglin single with two outs to bring senior
Shelby Baker home. A walk for Cave would load the bases as Zarantonello singles up the middle to bring a runner of her own home. The single to left field from Darnell would add the final two runs to the score board as Cave and Anglin score.
Emily Cave doubled to left center to start the bottom of the fifth advancing to scoring position on Zarantonellos fly out. Darnell took a ball to the helmet earning her a base and stealing second before a advancing to third and sending Cave home on
Kat Bessler's right field single. With one out, the Titans were just one run away from a five-inning victory until a St. Francis double play cut them short.
The Fighting Saints tried to make a comeback scoring a run in the sixth and four in the seventh but the Titans halted St. Francis striking out the last batter to secure the sweep.
IU South Bend softball prepares for two road games traveling to Lincoln on Tuesday, April 27 and Indiana Tech on Thursday, April 29 before returning home for senior day on Saturday, May 1 to face the Cardinal Stritch Wolves.
