Quincy Ill. – The Maryville softball team extended their winning streak to three games with a sweep of Quincy University Saturday afternoon. The Saints won the first game of the day, 5-2 and then won the back end of the doubleheader, 4-2 at Mart Heinen Complex in Quincy, Ill.
The Saints grabbed an early lead as
Kelsey Martin reached base on an error and moved all the way over to third base. She scored on a
Samantha Hausl single to right field to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. After a pair of scoreless frames, the Hawks plated a pair of runs in the fourth to take a 2-1 advantage, but the Saints rallied in the top of the fifth with two outs as Martin started things off with an infield single and then stole second base. After
Emily Frankenreiter and
Nikki Taylor drew walks to load the bases, Hausl again came through with a double to left field that cleared the bases as Maryville took a 4-2 lead.
The Saints added an insurance run in the seventh as
Courtney Ferguson drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a Martin single to left field to put runners at first and second. Frankenreiter came to the plate and drilled a single to left center to score Ferguson as it gave the Saints a 5-2 lead.
Taylor earned her 10
th win of the year with a complete game effort while striking out a pair of Hawk batters. Hausl lead the way for Maryville at the plate going 2-for-2 with four runs batted in while Martin chipped in with a pair of hits.
The Saints took advantage of a pair of errors in the opening frame of the nightcap to grab a 3-0 lead. Ferguson started things off for Maryville with a single and moved up to third as Martin reached base on a fielding error. Hausl took advantage of another Hawk miscue in the field to score Ferguson and give Maryville a 1-0 lead. Taylor and
Casey Ward smacked back-to-back hits to score Martin and Hausl as it gave the Saints a 3-0 lead. The Hawks cut the Maryville lead to 3-1 in the home half of the first, but Ward extended the lead to 4-1 when she smashed her first home run of the year. Quincy scored a run in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 4-2, but that was as close as they would get as
Alyssa Callans and
Sheridon Sprague combined to shut down the Hawks over the last three frames to earn the doubleheader sweep.
Callans improved to 4-3 on the season with six strikeouts over her five innings pitched. Ward lead the Saints attack by going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in while Martin and Taylor each added a pair of hits for Maryville, who out-hit Quincy 10-6.
Maryville continues its weekend road trip tomorrow as the Saints will travel to Kirksville, Mo. to take on Truman State in a doubleheader set to begin at noon.
