The Saint Xavier University softball team has been playing extremely well as of late and was on a 17-game winning streak before having it snapped in the second game of a double-header against Bethel College (Ind.) on Friday, April 29. SXU has however moved up the rankings, after being ranked No. 25 in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll in the preseason, the Cougars have moved up to No. 20 and as of March 26, Saint Xavier is ranked No. 18 in the nation.
SXU had its first home game of the 2013 campaign on Wednesday, March 27, against Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) foe Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.). The Cougars won both games of the double-header by the finals of 4-3 in game one and 5-1 in game two.
In the opening game, Saint Xavier got the scoring going in the second inning following a walk by sophomore outfielder Shannon Lauret; sophomore third baseman Sarah Saunders stepped to the plate and belted a home run to left center field to give SXU a 2-0 advantage. The Cougars took a 3-0 advantage into the third inning after sophomore left fielder Holly Hilden stole home to give Saint Xavier their third run on the afternoon.
Freshman second baseman Kasey Kanaga tacked on an RBI single in the fourth inning to give SXU their fourth run. CCSJ added two runs in the seventh inning, but it was not enough as the Cougars came away with a 4-3 victory.
In the second game of the double-header, the visiting Crimson Wave took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning following a bases loaded walk. Saint Xavier tied the game up in the fifth inning when sophomore catcher Megan James hit a solo home run.
SXU recorded four runs in the sixth inning to give the Cougars a 5-1 advantage that they did not relinquish. Lauret singled to left field to start the scoring off and later freshman first baseman Shannon Pedersen blasted a three run home run to cap off the scoring.
On Thursday, March 28, Saint Xavier battled the Knights of Marian University (Ind.), a game in which SXU shutout MU in the first game 2-0 and then defeated the visiting Knights 5-4 in the second game. Junior pitcher Megan Nonnemacher pitched a complete game shutout for the Cougars with seven strikeouts and allowed only three hits.
Saint Xavier got both of their runs in the third inning off an RBI single to left field by Lauret. The two runs was the difference maker in the game as SXU came away with a 2-0 victory.
Game two was a little more difficult as Marian would not be held scoreless for two consecutive games. The Cougars got the scoring started in the third inning with an RBI single to left field by freshman pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher.
The second RBI came off the bat of senior third baseman Kate Mollohan who singled to right center. Three runs by MU in the sixth inning gave the Knights a 3-2 edge, but Saint Xavier came up with three runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 5-3 lead.
Sophomore first baseman Amanda Hainlen doubled down the right field line for the first RBI of the inning. Lauret had a sacrifice bunt that resulted in an RBI and Saunders came up with an RBI single to cap off the scoring in the inning. The Knights added one run in the seventh inning, but it was to no avail as SXU won the game 5-4.
In the most recent contest against Bethel College (Ind.) on Friday, March 29, the Cougars grabbed a 2-1 win in the opening game. Saint Xavier continued to score in the third inning following a single by Hainlen that resulted in a throwing error and a run for SXU.
Bethel added a run in the fifth inning, but the Cougars followed suit and added a run in the bottom of the fifth off a home run by Hainlen to give Saint Xavier the 2-1 lead and the eventual 2-1 victory.
The second game went a little differently as SXU could not get any offense going after a run in the opening inning on a wild pitch error by Bethel. The Cougars got a solid pitching performance from Nicole Nonnemacher who threw a complete game with 15 strikeouts, but the three earned runs was the difference as SXU fell 4-1 to snap the win streak.
Saint Xavier will travel to Deerfield, Ill., for its next game against Trinity International University (Ill.) on Thursday, April 4. The first game of the double-header is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the second game following right after.
Greg Pilafas
Deputy Editor in Chief
About Post Author
