Notables
- Felber went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and one RBI in the pair of contests.
- Schley has reached base safely in each of the Saints' first 10 games and 17-straight dating back to last season.
- Howe threw her second shutout of the year in the opening game vs. Mount Mary.
- The Saints tied their season-high with 11 hits vs. Skidmore.
- Schley had a season-best seven strikeouts in the circle against the Thoroughbreds.
TUCSON, Ariz. (
csssaints.com) -- The College of St. Scholastica softball team opened play at the Tucson Invitational Games Sunday with a pair of wins over Mount Mary University (Wis.), 3-0, and Skidmore College (N.Y.), 8-1, to improve to 5-5 on the season.
Game One: CSS 3, Mount Mary 0
The Saints used a three-run sixth inning and a complete-game shutout in the circle from
Olivia Howe (Scandia, Minn./Forest Lake HS) to earn the victory in the first game of the day.
Howe and Blue Angels' pitcher Adrianna Nester dueled it out through the first five innings, before CSS was able to put three across in the sixth.
Lily Kagan (Anchorage, Alaska/Robert Service HS) started the inning with a lead-off single and moved to second on a bunt single from
Nicole Anders (Port Angeles, Wash./Sequim HS). A fielder's choice would give the Saints their first out, but a
Maggie Schley (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) single loaded the bases for Howe, who drove in Anders from third for the first run of the contest. Back-to-back singles from
Krysta Felber (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) and
Toni Bishop (Roseville, Minn./Roseville HS) drove in two more runs and sealed the win for CSS.
Felber led the Saints at the plate with two hits and two RBI.
Howe allowed only two hits and struck out six in her second complete-game shutout of the year. She improved her record to 2-2.
Game Two: Skidmore 1, CSS 8
CSS struck early in game two of the day, as they brought across two runs in the first inning and another in the second to make it a 3-0 game through two complete.
Anders led off the Saints' half of the inning with a double and eventually scored on a RBI single through the right side off the bat of Howe. With one out, Bishop singled to left field to score Felber and put CSS ahead by two runs.
Hannah Thul (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) started off the second inning with a one-out single up the middle and Anders followed suit to extend the Saints' lead to three runs.
CSS added another run in the fifth on a bases loaded RBI walk from
Sydney Plemel (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice HS), before another RBI walk from Bishop and a three-RBI triple off the bat of
Ashley Pollema (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) in the sixth put the game out of reach for Skidmore.
Anders, Thul, Felber and Howe each had two hits in the contest for the Saints, who tied their season-high with 11 total hits in the game.
Schley picked up her third win of the season in the circle for CSS, holding Skidmore to just one unearned run and two hits in seven innings of work. The senior also tallied a season-best seven strikeouts in the win.
Up Next
The Saints (5-5) continue play in the Tucson Invitational Games Monday, facing Dickinson College (Pa.) at 3:30 p.m. CT and Millikin University (Ill.) at 3:30 p.m. CT.
