CLERMONT, Fla. – The Alverno softball team opened the 2020 season with a pair of non-conference matchups at the Legends Way Fields in Central Florida on Sunday. The Inferno fell in the opener to St. Mary's (Minn.) by a 12-1 score in the opener, before falling to Sage by an 8-0 score in the second game of the doubleheader.
 
Alverno was led by freshman Seneca Peterson, both in the circle and at the plate. Peterson came on in relief in the opener and tossed one inning while striking out a pair, before making her first career pitching start and recording 3 1/3 innings, while yielding just one earned run. At the plate, the freshman collected three hits in six at bats on the afternoon.
 
Senior Kaitlynn Johnson kicked off her senior season with two hits in four at bats on the day, while junior Lauren Greif and sophomore Natalie Akin each had two hits apiece. Greif had the team's lone extra-base hit as well as the team's lone RBI on the day in the opener. Freshman Chloe Cech also picked up the first hit of her collegiate career in the second game against Sage.
 
Junior Kaitlynn Schmick started the opener and struck out three batters over three innings, while tossing one inning in relief in the second contest against Sage. Akin also made her season pitching debut and yielded one run with one strikeout over two innings of work against St. Mary's (Minn.).
 
Game 1 vs. St. Mary's (Minn.)
The Cardinals opened up the game with a run on two hits in the top of the first inning before Alverno responded in the bottom half of the frame. Akin led off with a single and was run for by freshman Ashley Flores. After an error by the Cardinals put the second batter of the game on, Greif followed with a run-scoring double down the right field line to plate Flores and tie the game.
 
The Cardinals added two more runs in the second inning off of back-to-back singles before Schmick settled in and allowed a harmless two-out single before retiring the side in the third. The top of the fourth saw St. Mary's (Minn.) score four runs on three hits, while the Inferno committed a pair of errors in the field as the Cardinal lead swelled to 7-1.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Alverno got two batters on with two outs as freshman Zimri Lemonds reached on a one-out walk and Akin reached on a screaming line drive off the third baseman's glove for a single before the side was retired.
 
St. Mary's (Minn.) scored five more in the top of the sixth as the Cardinal lead went to 12-1. The Inferno went down in order in the bottom of the sixth as the Cardinals picked up the win.
 
Game 2 vs. Sage
In their second consecutive Florida meeting, the Inferno were looking to improve to 2-0 all-time against the Gators and battled through the first four innings.
 
Sage scratched across a run on a walk, single, hit batter and RBI groundout to take an early 1-0 lead before the Inferno put the first two runners on in the top of the second before ultimately stranding the bases full.
 
After a scoreless third frame, the Inferno got a one-out bunt single by Johnson, who promptly stole second base. However, the Inferno were unable to bring around the senior.  Sage tacked on an insurance run to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a base hit up the middle.
 
Alverno got another two batters on base in the top of the fifth before the pair were stranded to bring up the Gators in the bottom of the inning. Sage added six runs on five hits in the frame to cap off the scoring and close out the game with an 8-0, six-inning victory.
 
Alverno (0-2) will look to recover on Monday, when the team plays at the Minneola Athletic Complex in Minneola, Florida. The Inferno will battle Juniata at 3:00 p.m. (CT), before the second game at 5:15 (CT) with both games taking place on Field S1 at the complex.