Belles Bow Out of MIAA Tournament
Saint Mary's Stories
- Kelsey Keilman and Kelsey Richards both went 2-for-3 for the Belles.
- Makenzie Duncan had a hit and scored a run.
- Morgan Raymer shouldered the loss in the circle after going six complete and striking out three.
HOLLAND, Mich. - The Saint Mary's softball team (24-15) saw their run in the MIAA Tournament stopped in an 8-1 loss against No. 14 Trine.
The Belles came up with a big defensive play in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs gone in the inning and runners on first and second, the Thunder had a single fall inside the left field line. Kelsey Keilman came up firing, and the relay play to the plate saw Emma Conroy apply the tag to end the inning.
Saint Mary's then jumped on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. Makenzie Duncan led off with a single to center field. Morgan Raymer hit a hard-spinning, slow-rolling grounder to the Thunder first baseman to advance Duncan to second base. The junior then stole third to move sixty feet away from home. Kelsey Richards hit a grounder to first base, and Duncan slid around the catcher and swiped her hand across home plate before the tag to score the first run of the game and give the Belles the 1-0 edge. Two batters later, Krystal Harris drew a walk to put a pair aboard. A wild pitch allowed Richards and Harris to both advance, but the two were stranded in scoring position to end the inning.
The defense came up with another big play in the bottom of the third. A lead off triple for Trine was for naught after another play at the plate resulted in Conroy cutting down the runner trying to score. The Thunder, however, put together a two-out rally to plate three runs to go up 3-1.
Saint Mary's was working toward putting together a rally in the top of the fifth inning. Krystal Harris drew a lead-off walk before being called out for leaving first base early. Keilman laced a single through the right side of the defense to keep the energy going for the Belles. A line drive double play, however, ended the inning.
Trine responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to go up 8-1. A double play by the Belles in the bottom of the sixth stopped the Thunder from ending the game early via the eight-run rule.
In the top of the seventh, Kelsey Richards drove a one-out single into left field, and Caitlyn Migawa added a single through the left side to put two runners on base. Kelsey Keilman added a two-out single to left field to load the bases, but the Belles were unable to put together the last-inning rally.
Morgan Raymer shouldered the loss in the circle after going six complete and striking out three. Kelsey Keilman and Kelsey Richards both went 2-for-3 for the Belles. Makenzie Duncan had a hit and scored a run.