Bartlow, FL - The Saint Scholastica softball team traveled to Florida for a series of games that will last through the week until Friday, March 14. The first team they played was against Kean University, which ended in a 8-1 loss. The second game against Beloit College resulted in a 6-3 win.

Game One: CSS 1, Kean University 8

Both teams struggled to advance in the first inning, with the Cougars registering the only hit of the inning. 

The Saints were able to get their first and only point of the game in the third inning, as Aryn Blumenthal (Linwood, Minn./Forest Lake HS) singled through the left side and was further advanced by a hit from Emma Bolin (Litchfield Park, Ariz./Millennium HS). 

Payton Lang (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) then hit a sacrifice bunt to the left side, which assisted Blumenthal and Bolin to third and second. 

The play was completed with Katelyn Hack singled to center field, which then resulted in an RBI, as Blumenthal scored to take a 1-0 lead. Bolin then attempted to double the lead, but was unsuccessful resulting in an out.

A hit from the Cougars allowed two runners to cross home plate, claiming a 1-2 lead over the Saints. They then added to the total in the fourth after an unsuccessful run from the Saints, as they tallied two more points off a fielding error for a 1-4 lead.

After a scoreless fifth, the Cougars continued their good form with a hit to right center, allowing two more runs to make the score 1-6. Soon after, a Cougars runner stole third and added to the tally by a throwing error from the Saints to make it 1-7.

The Cougars scored the final run of the game from a hit grounded out to third, allowing them to score an unearned run. The final score of the game was 1-8 in favor of the Cougars of Kean University.

Game Two: CSS 6, Beloit College 3

Shaking off the tough loss from game one, the Saints came out swinging in the second game by scoring five runs in just the first inning.

Callie Casura (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial High School) and Bolin kickstarted the tally thanks to a triple to right center from freshman Victoria Nelson (Lake Elmo, Minn./Mahtomedi High School) to start the game with a 2-0 lead. Another freshman, Lindsey Ewer (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown High School), hit another triple to right field, resulting in an RBI and a run for Nelson to make the score 3-0.

Katelyn Hackman (Oakdale, MN/Tartan High School) pushed Ewer home, after singling a hit to shortstop to make the score 4-0. Freshman Sami Ernst (Forest Lake, MN./Forest Lake HS) tripled to center field, allowing Hackman to close the first inning with a dominant 5-0 lead.

The Buccaneers pushed back in the second inning from a single up the middle, advancing their hitter to second which allowed two runners to cross home, making the score 5-2 at the end of the second inning. 
The next two innings were quiet, until the fifth inning when a Buccaneers runner reached first on an error, bringing in a run, but was thrown out attempting to advance to second.

Ernst responded back by reaching first due to an error from the Buccaneers, which allowed Nelson to score the final run of the game to close out a 6-3 win.

Up Next 

The Saints (2-4, 0-0) will be back in action tomorrow, Monday, March 10 with a double-header taking on Earlham College (IN) and Carthage College (WI) with the first game beginning at 1:45 p.m.