BARTOW, FL. - The Beloit College Buccaneers suffered two tough losses on the opening day of The Spring Games. In their opener, they suffered an 8-0 defeat at the hands of Thomas (ME). In game two, they fell in a tightly contested 6-3 loss to the Saints of the College of St. Scholastica. The Buccaneers fall to 0-4 (0-0 MWC) on the season.
Game 1
Despite a spirited effort, Beloit's offense could only muster 4 hits across the seven innings. Standout performances were hard to come by, with Angela Donath (Wausau, Wis.) recording two hits and Allie Gustafson (Beloit, Wis.) and Jocelyn Jordan (Beloit, Wis.) a hit each.
Thomas (2-1, 0-0 NAC) (ME) proved to be a formidable opponent. Morris led the charge with 3 hits and 3 RBIs, including a crucial double in the third inning that broke the scoreless tie. Duhaime also had a significant impact, driving in a run with a triple and scoring another on a wild pitch.
Game 2
St. Scholastica jumped out to an early lead, scoring five runs in the first inning. A combination of timely hits, including triples by Nelson and Ewer, along with an error, put Beloit in a difficult position right from the start.
The Buccaneers responded in the second inning, clawing back with two runs of their own. Kaylee Witte (Poplar Grove, IL) started the rally with a single, and after a sacrifice bunt by Hannah Beran (Calendonia, Ill.), Siddalee Meyers (Orfordville, Wis.) drove in both Witte and Lizzie Paschal (Holbrook, AZ) with a single up the middle.
However, Beloit's offense struggled to generate consistent momentum, with only two more hits to show for the rest of the game.
The Bucs added one more run in the fifth inning after Briana Arteaga (Covina, Calif.) walked, advanced to second, and then scored on an error by St. Scholastica's second baseman following a ground ball by Kaitlyn Nicholson (Roscoe, Ill), who was pinch hitting. Nicholson, however, was tagged out trying to advance to second.
On the pitching side, Beloit used three arms. Avary Briggs (Albany, Wis.) started the game but struggled in the first inning. Samantha Friedrichsohn (Waukesha, WI) came in to pitch in the first, and Helena Harrison (Chapel Hill, N.C.) ended up finishing with 3.0 innings of work.
The Buccaneers return to the field tomorrow morning pending weather. They are slated to play University of Northwestern (MN) and Gordon College. Game one will be played at 8 am CT and game two at 10:30 am CT.
