Menomonie, WI - The Saint Scholastica Saints softball team took on the Blue Devils of University of Wisconsin-Stout yesterday with a double header. Despite the Saints taking an early lead in game one, the Blue Devils came back to win both games.
Game One: CSS 2, UW-Stout 5
Both teams started slow in the first, but the Saints struck in the second. Callie Casura (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial High School) singled to center, and Lauren Laviano (Maplewood, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) reached on a fielder's choice. A throwing error advanced Casura to third, setting up Jadyn Lind's (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) fielder's choice to bring her home for a 1-0 lead.
Katelyn Hackman (Oakdale, MN/Tartan High School) swung off the top of the third with a double to left center, who advanced to home from a Samantha Paniagua (Corona, Calif./Centennial HS) single and Victoria Nelson (Lake Elmo, Minn./Mahtomedi High School) reaching on a fielding error, tallying a 2-0 lead.
Sami Ernst (Forest Lake, MN./Forest Lake HS) started off the fourth inning with a single to second base, and later stole second. However, it was not enough as the Blue Devils went on to score four runs in the bottom of the fourth with six hits, claiming a 4-2 lead over the Saints.
The Blue Devils added to their tally in the fifth inning for a 5-2 lead, after the Saints were unable to capitalize at bat.
Aryn Blumenthal (Linwood, Minn./Forest Lake HS) singled down the left field line in the sixth, but nothing else came of it. The Saints fell short in game one after a crucial fourth inning from the opposition, losing 5-2.
Game Two: CSS 3, UW-Stout 6
The Blue Devils shut down the Saints in the first inning, and took a commanding 3-0 lead from the start. They were able to add to the tally in the second inning through a sacrificial fly to make the score 4-0.
The bases were loaded for the Saints after Emma Bolin (Litchfield Park, Ariz./Millennium HS), Hackman, and Lang all singled in the third inning. However, Casura couldn't get the big hit to stay in the game as the score remained the same.
The fourth period came around, and the Blue Devils looked to add more runs to the scoreline, doing so with a double RBI for a 6-0 lead. The Saints weren't done, as Ernst scored from a single from Hackman to cut the deficit to 6-1. Hackman scored herself after Casura reached from a fielder's choice, making it 6-2.
Freshman Rita Langford (Webster, MN/Richfield High School) put another one on the board for the Saints after Bolin singled to left field, making the final score of the second game 6-3 in favor of the Blue Devils.
Up Next - The Saints (4-12, 0-0) will play the Wildcats of St. Catherine's University in a double header on Wednesday, April 2. The first pitch for the games are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. here in Duluth.
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