Notables:
-Micah McGuiness (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) went 3-6 with a win and a pair of RBIs in the contests.
-CSS has won 15 straight games
-CSS has won 32 straight home games and 35 straight UMAC regular season games
-McCabe ended her hitting streak at 14 games after going 0-3 in the second contest
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica softball team took both games on Saturday afternoon in its conference doubleheader against the University of Minnesota-Morris. The Saints took the first game 5-0 and the second game 5-2 at Kenwood Field.
Game 1: CSS 5, Crown 0
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third, where CSS took the lead for good. A sacrifice fly from Micah McGuiness (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) scored Emily Schiro (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Armstrong HS), who had tripled earlier just earlier, giving the Saints a 1-0 lead through three.
St. Scholastica remained up by just one run until the bottom of the fifth, when four Saints crossed the plate to give CSS a healthy 5-0 lead. Singles and stolen bases from Schiro and McGuiness gave the Saints two runners in scoring position with one out. Nikki Logergen delivered a big RBI single to center to score both runners, giving Scholastica a 3-0 advantage. After a flyout and a hit batter, the Saints would score their final two runs on Cougar miscues. A wild pitch and an errant throw from the catcher allowed one run to cross the plate and put another runner at third. A dropped fly ball with two outs allowed the final run of the contest to score, as CSS cruised on to the 5-0 victory.
Chrisi Mizera (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East HS) picked up the complete game win for CSS, her 13th of the season, as Morris was only able to muster two hits in the contest. Mariah Essig picked up the loss for the Cougars.
Game 2: CSS 5, Crown 2
Just as in the first contest, neither team crossed the plate until the third inning. Unlike the previous contest, it was the Cougars taking the early lead as Morris strung together a single, a double and a wild pitch to gain a 1-0 advantage in the top of the inning.
The Saints would come charging back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs with two outs. With runners on first and second following a single and a hit batter, an Alexa Bremer (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) single and error by the center fielder allowed one run to cross and put runners on first and third. Bremer then stole second, and a throwing error by the catcher allowed another run to score, giving CSS a 2-1 lead. Bremer then finished circling the bases on a Schiro single. Not to be outdone, Schiro stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch. She would then score as McGuiness helped her own cause by doubling to center, capping off the two out rally at four runs and putting St. Scholastica ahead 4-1.
The Cougars attempted to make a comeback in the top of the seventh as a triple and a groundout to second pulled the Cougars within three at 2-1 with one out. However, reliever Vanessa Kohl (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) promptly slammed the door shut on the Morris rally by striking out the next two batters to give CSS their second win of the afternoon with a final score of 5-2.
Micah McGuiness (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) picked up the win for the Saints, throwing six innings and allowing just one run. Mackenzie Weatherly took the loss for the Cougars, allowing five runs on nine hits in six innings as well.
CSS (21-10, 15-0 UMAC) looks to continue a 15-game winning streak as the Saints head down to face University of Northwestern Eagles at 11 a.m. and the University of North Central Rams at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
