MILWAUKEE -- The Alverno College women's softball team notched its first two victories of the season in a non-conference doubleheader over Mount Mary College, 25-2 and 21-2, in five innings apiece to rise to 2-2 overall on the season in the Inferno's home-opener on Monday, March 23.
After jumping out to a 7-0 lead after the first two innings in game one, the Inferno poured in a whopping 14 runs in the third inning fueled in part by senior third baseman Andrea Spindler's (Greendale, Wis.) first grand slam of the season. Spindler finished the game with five RBI to finish with a team-high nine RBI following game two.
Alverno would tack on another four runs in the fourth inning and looked to be well on their way to a shutout before the Blue Angels (0-12) scored a pair of runs on two hits at the top of the fifth inning.
Although the Inferno made contact for just 15 hits of their 25 run total, their persistence at the plate was rewarded with a total of 18 walks, five of which were recorded by sophomore short stop Megan Burgess (Racine, Wis./Park). That total enters Burgess into Alverno's record books for most walks in a game, which would later be tied by freshman outfielder Ashley Graham (Cudahy, Wis.) in game two.
"We went ahead and had some different pitchers throw leading up to today's games just to make sure that we would stay disciplined at the plate," said Alverno head coach Heather Burtman. "Sometimes when you see such a change in pitching as far as speed goes, it's difficult to adjust so we spent a lot of time making sure we were ready for today's doubleheader."
The second game of the doubleheader started in a much more interesting fashion, as Mount Mary knocked in a pair of runs on three hits to lead, 2-0, heading into the bottom of the first inning. The Inferno matched that score after senior catcher Rebecca Schmid (Tigerton, Wis.) and junior pitcher Jessica Goetz (Milwaukee, Wis./Greendale Martin Luther) both reached on walks. Schmid was then driven home by a Spindler single and Goetz would later reach home after a series of wild pitches and walks to knot the score at two heading into the top of the second inning.
However, after sending the first three Blue Angels back to the dugout at the top of the second, the Inferno's patience helped them put the game out of reach. Alverno took advantage of Mount Mary's wild pitching to rack up 11 runs off just one hit and one error to take a commanding 13-2 lead. Eight more runs in the third inning on three hits by freshman first baseman Calan Hess (Franklin, Wis.), senior right fielder Hailey Hegerty (Milwaukee, Wis./Thomson) and Schmid sealed the sweep for the Inferno.
Junior pitcher Jessica Goetz (Milwaukee, Wis./Greendale Martin Luther) picked up both wins in the circle for the Inferno, throwing all 10 innings played while allowing nine hits and fanning 14. Goetz also put forth a solid effort at the plate for the day, racking up a pair of doubles in game one while also tallying a team-high nine runs scored total for both games.
Schmid led the Inferno in the batter's box for the first game, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. She also added a 2 RBI double to go along with four runs in game two.
Burtman was pleased with her team's patience at the plate against Mount Mary, but acknowledges that this weekend's pair of Northern Athletics Conference doubleheaders will most certainly provide her team with a greater challenge. The Inferno will open their NAC schedule on Saturday, March 28, with Benedictine University followed by a face-off at Marian University on Sunday.
"We start off with some of the top teams in the conference, opening up this weekend with Benedictine and Marian," Burtman said. "Both teams are picked to finish in the top six in the conference and have been right up there the past couple of seasons. It'll be a nice challenge for us and exciting to get into conference play and get some more games in."
First pitch with Benedictine is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wis., while Sunday's game one start time is also set for 12 p.m. at Marian in Fond du Lac, Wis.
