St. Ambrose gets split at St. Francis (Ill.)
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
|
St. Francis (Ill.) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 10 | 1 |
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 0 |
|
St. Francis (Ill.) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
The Bees used a big six-run inning to defeat St. Francis (Ill.) 9-6 in the first game of a doubleheader in Joliet, Ill., Friday afternoon. The Saints came back to win the second game 7-6.
SAU's outburst came in the fourth inning of the opener, with the team trailing 3-0. Kayla Stenger got things started with a lead-off double. Allison Polly beat out a bunt single and stole second base. After back-to-back outs, the next five Bees would reach base. Colleen Barrett laced a two-run single to left-center, McKenna Vrbovsky singled and Jazzy Bowman walked to load the bases. Olivia McClintock reached on an infield single to score Barrett, and Logan Frerichs followed with the biggest hit of the inning, a three-run double that put St. Ambrose in front 6-3.
Alyssa Schumacher ripped a one-out home run in the fifth to push the lead to 7-3.
St. Francis (19-9, 9-7 CCAC) got back within a single run after scoring twice in the fifth and once more in the sixth.
But another big two-out hit gave the Bees some breathing room in the seventh. Bowman doubled down the left-field line to score both Cassie Sprout and Vrbovsky to increase the lead to 9-6.
Jane Thomas worked a 1-2-3 seventh, her second inning in relief, to close out the win and earn a save. Alyia Oliver picked up the win by throwing 1 1/3 innings in relief of starter Erica Ralfs.
Frerichs, Schumacher and Vrbovsky each had two hits. The Bees pounded out 13 hits as a team in the victory.
Stenger helped St. Ambrose to a quick lead in the second game, scoring Aleah Wight with a sacrifice fly in the first before plating McClintock and Wight with a double in the second.
But the 3-0 lead would not hold up. The Saints scored seven runs over the second, third and fourth innings to take control.
Frerichs had a two-run triple and later came around to score on Barrett's infield hit in the fifth to pull SAU to within a run at 7-6. But that would be it for the Bees as Polly was stranded at second after a one-out double in the seventh.
Oliver was tagged with the loss. Ralfs was able to keep the Bees in the game by tossing two perfect innings in relief.
St. Ambrose, now 18-10 overall and 12-8 in the CCAC, will next compete in the CCAC Tournament May 6-8 in Crown Point, Ind.