MELBOURNE, Fla. -- The University of St. Francis softball team gained its second split doubleheader sweep of the week on day three of the Space Coast Spring Break Games on Tuesday afternoon in Melbourne, Fla. by outscoring its opposition 13-4. The Fighting Saints (11-4) opened with a 2-1 walkoff victory against Lourdes University (Ohio) before producing an offensive showcase with their 15 hits in an 11-3 mercy rule shortened win over Bismarck State College (ND).
A total of seven USF players produced multi-hit games on the day, including
Emily Hurst and
Missy Saldana, who each tallied a combined three hits and at least one RBI over the two games. Both of Hurst's hits in Game 2 went for extra bases, including her fourth home run of the season, while Saldana authored the game-winning hit against Lourdes with a double in the right center gap.
Game 1: USF 2, Lourdes 1
The pitcher's duel between St. Francis'
Kaitlyn Schofield and Lourdes' Cassi Kieper ended in USF's favor on Saldana's walk-off double in the right center gap to score
Morgan Smardo – who had previously reached base with a leadoff triple - with the winning run. That ended a three-inning scoreless streak for both squads after each team plated single runs in the second and third innings.
Lourdes was the first to score in the second frame after back-to-back base hits with two outs put the Gray Wolves up 1-0. St. Francis duplicated the feat one inning later when Hurst connected for a two-out double to score
Sarah Viar, who had reached base with a single of her own, to know the score at 1-1.
The two Lourdes' hits in the second inning would be all of the offense the Gray Wolves would coax out of Schofield for the remainder of the contest, as the junior hurler retired 15 of the last 16 batters she faced with the lone base runner reaching base via an eight-pitch walk. Schofield (5-2) was rewarded with her fifth win of the season in the circle while also claiming five strikeouts to her credit.
Game 2: USF 11, Bismarck State 3 (5 innings)
The Saints went right to work on their biggest offensive day thus far at the Space Coast Games with four runs over the first three innings and five more in the fourth inning before capping things off with two additional scores in the fifth. Ten players in all recorded a hit with six driving in at least one run against Bismarck State (5-15).
Hurst (2-for-3, 2 RBI), Saldana (2-for-3, 1 RBI),
Isabella Landeros (2-for-4, 1 RBI),
Kamryn Koontz (2-for-2), and
Kylie Cook (2-for-4) led the former group with two hits apiece, while Smardo topped the latter chart with a quartet of RBIs and two runs scored.
Sarah Viar and
Abby Sippel both singled to collect one RBI apiece, while
Jaelynn Taylor and
Emily Boyle rounded out the Saints' 15-hit attack with one double each.
Boyle (6-2) authored her team-leading sixth win of the campaign by going the first four innings. She struck out four batters against four walks, while allowing three earned runs.
Up Next
The Saints have tomorrow off before they take the field again on Thursday (March 12) in a faceoff against Kent State University at Tuscarawas (Ohio) at 1:30 pm CST followed by a rematch with Cornerstone University (Mich.) at 3:45 pm CST.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
