CROWN POINT, Ind. --- How do you score in every inning and still have to play extra innings? It was that kind of a day for the University of St. Francis softball team, which will take it as long as it means another day to stay alive in the 2021 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Tournament. The No.5 seeded Fighting Saints did just that, completing their trifecta of victories in the elimination bracket on Friday night with a 16-15, eight-inning victory over No.4 seed St. Ambrose University. 
 

An unearned run on a wild throw capped off the 2-hour, 54-minute marathon, which featured 40 hits and six errors, five of which were by St. Ambrose. Twelve of USF's 16 runs also came after two outs. 
 

And if those numbers weren't crazy enough, sophomore pitcher Bridget McDermott (Palos Heights, Ill.) nearly doubled her win count in just a ten-hour window. She gained all three wins on the day for the Saints after entering Friday with a 4-4 record. 
 

Nonetheless, it did not come easy.  
 

Three separate times the Saints had to battle back from deficits, including a pair of four-run differentials in the first three innings. St. Ambrose opened with a four spot in the top of the first inning, but gave half of those runs back on a pair of errors in the bottom of the first inning. McDermott (2-for-5) also mixed in a sacrifice fly. 
 

One inning later, USF (24-14) had the game tied at four-all on a Kayla Garcia (GR/Chicago, Ill.) double. That tie, however, did not last long after St. Ambrose pushed another four runs across the plate in the top of third inning to completely wipe out the Saints' initial comeback. 
 

Back to work head coach Amanda Jensen's club went with Christina Lorenzatti (FR/Beecher, Ill.) leading the charge. The second baseman started what would become a string of eight unanswered runs with her run-scoring double in the third inning before pushing the Saints ahead 10-8 on a bases-clearing triple in the fourth. Just prior to that, Kaylie Sippel (FR/Beecher, Ill.) (3-for-5, 3 runs) and Carlie Benes (JR/Valparaiso, Neb.) (2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI) delivered run-scoring singles. 
 

Maddie Massaro's (SO/Romeoville, Ill.) two-run single an inning later gave St. Francis its biggest lead of the night at 12-8. It was one of three hits in the contest for the catcher.   
 

After both teams exchanged single runs in the sixth inning, St. Ambrose unleashed the biggest inning of either side with its six-run seventh to go back on top 15-13.  Falling behind for the third time, however, did not derail the Saints, who would tie the game yet again, this time at 15-all, on a Benes double and a Danielle Callahan (JR/New Lenox, Ill.) sacrifice fly. 
 

For the third game in a row, USF had no less than five players collect at least two hits. Lorenzatti did it for the second time with her perfect 4-for-4, three-run, four-RBI effort.  Callahan (2-for-4, 1 RBI) and Sippel hit the mark all three times to finish with eight hits each on the day, the same amount as Lorenzatti, who also scored six times and drove in five runs. McDermott, Massaro and Benes all did it for the second time. 
 

USF was outhit 22-18 in the contest, but still finished the day with a massive haul of hits, 53 to be exact in 108 at bats (.491 average) resulting in the Saints' season batting average climbing 16 points on the day to .341.   
 

St. Francis still needs at least two more wins to reach their goal, which is the league's second automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. The Saints can get that by playing top-seeded Olivet Nazarene University in the championship game on Sunday. If the Tigers don't win the tournament, USF would need to do so to gain the bid.   
 

The challenge continues at noon on Saturday when the Saints face No.3 seed Roosevelt University in yet another elimination matchup.