WHITING, Ind. -- Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) held a 3-1 lead after three innings of play, but the University of St. Francis softball team stormed back to score a total of 10 runs between the fourth and fifth frames to earn an 11-3 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference mercy rule victory on Wednesday afternoon to wrap up its three-game series with the Crimson Wave at Whiting Sports Complex in Whiting, Ind.

Nine different players contributed to USF's 14 total hits with Emily Hurst (3-for-4, 3 RBI) leading the way with three hits, while Missy Saldana (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Sarah Viar (2-for-3, 1 RBI) each collected two apiece.

After spotting Calumet St. Joseph (2-16, 0-5) a run in the first inning, the Saints (20-7, 6-0 CCAC) knotted the score at 1-1 with a run of their own in the second stanza via a RBI single from Emily Boyle.  The Crimson Wave would respond with a single run in each of the second and third frames before the Saint bats came alive to the tune of nine hits and 10 runs over the final two innings before all was said and done.

USF took advantage of two Calumet errors to score five unearned runs in the fourth inning sparked by three hits.  The initial two runs of the frame were scored with a bases loaded single from Saldana before Viar followed one batter later with a RBI single, allowing the Saints to take the lead for the first time in the game.  Hurst then broke the inning open with a deep double to right field to plate the final two runs of the stanza fiving the Saints a 6-3 advantage.

In the fifth, St. Francis picked up where it left off, scoring its first run two batters into the inning following a Kamryn Koontz single.  Boyle then pushed the second run across via a sacrifice fly before Hurst collected her third RBI of the game with an infield hit to mark the score at 9-3.  Hailey Kaddatz then capped the scoring with a bases loaded single that plated the tenth and eleventh runs of the game for the Saints.

Boyle (10-2) authored her tenth win of the campaign with her seventh complete game of the year.  The junior struck out seven batters against three walks, while allowing two earned runs.

Up Next
USF takes on St. Ambrose University (Iowa) in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday, March 29 at 1 pm at St. Vincent's Athletic Complex in Davenport, Iowa.

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