Rensselaer, Ind. – The Maryville softball team pounded out 24 hits as the Saints swept Great Lakes Valley Conference foe, Saint Joseph's Saturday afternoon on the road in Rensselaer, Ind. Maryville won the opener 9-4 and then scored nine runs in the final two innings of play to earn the sweep, 9-1 in six innings.
 
The Saints raced out to an early lead in the first inning as Kelsey Martin started things off by reaching first base on an error and then moved to third on a pair of stolen bases. Sheridon Sprague then singled to center field to drive in Martin to give Maryville an early 1-0 lead before Nikki Taylor drilled a double to score Sprague and stake the Saints to a 2-0 advantage. Maryville kept things going in the second inning as the Saints loaded the bases with two singles and a hit by pitch before Courtney Ferguson smashed a triple to right center to clear the bases and give the Saints a 5-0 lead. Maryville extended their lead in the third as Casey Ward and Bri Livingston smacked back-to-back doubles to give the Saints a 6-0 lead. #Ashley Marks added another double to score Livingston and Ferguson drilled a single to score Marks to give the Saints an 8-0 advantage.
 
The Pumas cut into the lead with two runs in the fourth inning to make the score 8-2, but the Saints added an insurance run in the fifth as Marks opened the frame with a triple to right field and scored on a Ferguson single to give the Maryville a 9-2 lead. Saint Joseph's scored two runs in the home half of the inning, but that is as close as they would get as Taylor closed out the game retiring the final six Puma batters.
 
Taylor earned her 12^th win of the year with a complete game eight hitter in giving up four runs. Ferguson led the way at the plate for the Saints by going 3-for-4 with five runs batted in while Martin, Livingston, and Marks all had two hits and each scored a pair of runs in the win.
 
After the Puma's grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning in the night cap, Maryville's offense exploded for a crooked number in the top of the fifth as the Saints sent 11 batters to the plate to take an 8-0 lead. Sydney Halleen opened the frame with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Marks. Martin then drove home Halleen with a double into center field to tie the game at 1-1. The rest of the damage came with two-outs as the Saints strung together four consecutive hits to score three runs and take a 4-1 lead. With the bases loaded, Halleen came to the plate and smashed a grand slam over the right field wall to extend the Saints advantage to 8-1. Maryville added a run in the sixth inning to secure the sweep and improve to 21-23 on the season and 11-13 in conference play.
 
Alyssa Callans evened her record at 5-5 with a complete game performance in which she gave up one run on six hits with three strikeouts on the day. Halleen was the offensive hero for the Saints as she went 2-for-3 with four runs batted in and a pair of runs scored while Martin added two hits and scored a pair of runs in the win.
 
The road trip continues for the Saints tomorrow as they travel to Indianapolis, Ind. to take on the University of Indianapolis in a doubleheader set to start at 11:00 a.m.