St. Petersburg, FL

Santa Fe Softball had their first conference matchup at St. Petersburg College on Tuesday, February 24th, where they lost the first game 6-4 and won the second game 11-7.

Game 1

The Saints took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first after Mckenzie Cox scored from a fielder's choice by Miranda Murch, then Murch scored from a single by Haylee McCrea.

The Saints extended their lead to 4-1 in the top of the fourth after Molly Bender scored from a Murch singe and Murch scored after an error from McCrea's at-bat.

Two errors by the Saints in the bottom of the fifth helped the Titans score four runs in the inning to take the lead 5-4. 

The Titans added an insurance run from a double in the bottom of the sixth and held on to win 6-4.

Santa Fe had 10 hits compared to St. Petersburg's four, but the Saints had five errors compared to two by the Titans.

Molly Bender had two of the Saints' five stolen bases.

Game 2

Mckenzie Cox drew a leadoff walk to start the game, and she scored from a double by Miranda Murch. Murch scored from a single by McKenna O'Sullivan to give the Saints a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

The Saints extended their lead to 5-0 in the top of the second with a double by Sydney English to score Rylie Blankenship and Tegan Grizzard, and a single by Haylee McCrea scored Molly Bender.

Camryn VanGalder scored on a Grizzard sacrifice and Blankenship scored on a Cox single in the top of the third as the Saints extended their lead to 7-0.

The Titans cut the Saints' lead to 8-7 in the bottom of the sixth following an error, a single, and a wild pitch.

A triple by Cox in the top of the seventh scored Blankenship and Grizzard, and Cox scored on a sacrifice fly by Bender as the Saints took an 11-7 lead. Chloe Woods retired the first three batters in the bottom of the seventh to secure victory for the Saints.

The Saints stole seven bases in the game, with Cox, Blankenship, and Grizzard each stealing two bases and VanGalder recording one as well.

Cox led the Saints with three hits, and Murch and Blankenship both added two hits. The Saints had 12 total hits in the game.

Woods started and finished the game for the Saints, pitching a total of four innings while recording two strikeouts and allowing four hits, zero walks, and one run.

The Saints will travel to Tallahasee State College on Thursday, February 26th for a doubleheader starting at 3:00pm. The Saints hosted Tallahassee on February 12th, winning both games of the doubleheader in five innings 11-4 and 8-0.