PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Senior pitcher Kiersten Manning allowed just two runs on four hits across nine combined innings of work Thursday afternoon en route to the University of St. Francis softball team's 3-0 and 10-4 victories over Trinity Christian College in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play.  Manning picked up her ninth win of the season in the first contest before coming in to throw the final two innings of Game 2 to author her first save of the 2025 campaign.

The Fighting Saints (16-15, 11-3 CCAC) took advantage of a dominant performance from Manning in the circle in the opener before relying upon matching five-run offensive outbursts in the fifth and seventh innings of the nightcap.  USF scored five runs on five hits in the fifth frame, highlighted by a towering two-run home run off the bat of Emily Hurst. She also provided a deep two-run double into the right center gap to close the Saints' scoring in the final stanza.

Rose Mwaro, meanwhile, supplied a RBI single in each end of the twinbill as part of a three-hit afternoon for her.  Hurst (4 RBIs) and Emily Boyle (one) also contributed four hits apiece between the two victories, while Kylie Cook (3-for-7) and Jaelynn Taylor (3-for-6) both registered three.

Game 1:  USF 3, Trinity Christian 0 
Clutch two-out hitting and Manning's pitching keyed the win in Game 1.  The Saints broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Mwaro drove in the first run of the game with a two-out infield single.  Base hits from Taylor and Morgan Smardo earlier in the stanza set up the opportunity for the RBI from the senior outfielder, resulting in a 1-0 lead for USF.

With Trinity Christian (12-25-1, 4-8) threatening in the sixth frame after coaxing two walks - that later resulted in runners advancing to second and third with one out - Manning (9-7) regrouped to work herself out of the jam by producing back-to-back strikeouts and silencing the Trolls' threat.

In the seventh inning, the Saints capitalized on two base hits to plate two additional runs to up the score to 3-0.  After authoring a double early in the inning, Boyle came around to score following a Hurst single and a TCC throwing error.  Isabella Landeros then drove in Hurst one batter later via a sacrifice fly.

For the game, Manning went all seven innings in the circle, striking out eight batters.  She allowed just three hits in registering her first shutout of the season.

Game 2:  USF 10, Trinity Christian 4
After trailing 2-0 and producing just four hits through the first four innings of play, the Saints exploded for a five-run fifth inning to gain their first lead of the game.  TCC starting pitcher Katie Lorscheider was able to retire the first two batters in order to start off the frame, but a string of five straight hits shifted the momentum of the contest with Hurst's game-tying, two-run blast being the front-runner.

Cook notched a RBI single later in the inning to drive home Landeros (triple), while the remaining two unearned runs crossed the plate after back-to-back TCC errors.  That provided USF a three-run cushion.
 
Trinity Christian would not threaten again until a two-run home run found its way over the outfield wall in the seventh inning.  That, however, came after the Saints added five additional insurance runs to their scoring total in the top of the frame.  USF pushed the runs across the plate with five hits and RBIs from Manning (one), Mwaro (one), Boyle (one) and Hurst (two).

Smardo would get the start in the circle, striking out three batters in her three innings of work.  Boyle (7-7) was credited with the win after being called upon to handle the fourth and fifth frames, of which she did not allow a run to cross the plate.  Manning then closed out the contest, retiring six of the last nine batters she faced to pick up the save.  She finished the game with three strikeouts against two walks and one hit.

Up Next
The Saints will travel to La Crosse, Wis. on Wednesday (April 23) to take on Viterbo University in a CCAC doubleheader.  Game time is set for 2 pm at the Viterbo Outdoor Athletics Complex.

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