LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – The University of Saint Mary softball team opened their home schedule on Tuesday with a doubleheader split against Benedictine College. The Spires fell 10-2 before taking the final game by a score of 5-3.

Saint Mary is now at 1-3 overall on the season.

GAME 1
Saint Mary broke out of the gate with a 1-0 lead after the first inning of game one. Hazel Faz led off the inning with a double to deep center field. Benedictine retired the next two batters, but Alexis Solis kept the inning alive with a single to score Faz. The Ravens would get a spark in the third and fourth innings – scoring seven unanswered runs to take the lead. The Spires chipped in another run in the bottom half of inning number four when Reghan Ross slapped a single down the left field line to score Allyson Dias.

Benedictine would add three more runs in the next two innings as the game ended after six frames.

GAME 2
USM would open the game ahead again, this time posting two runs in the first inning. Three straight batters would reach base as Faz scored the first run of the game again, before Hailey Reece later scored on a double play ground ball. Benedictine would tie the score at two in the fourth inning, but the Spires struck again in the bottom of the inning. Maria Howard opened the inning with a single, before scoring on a base hit from Faz. Reece would later hit a sacrifice fly ball to score Josefina Gutierrez to give the Spires a 4-2 lead.

Faz added another base hit in the bottom of the sixth to score Howard – extending the lead to three runs. The Ravens added one last run in the seventh before Howard shut the door in the circle for the Spires.

INSIDE THE STATS:
- Faz led the team with five hits on the day.
- Howard pitched a complete game in the second contest and struck out three Ravens.
- Faz and Solis each had two RBI.

UP NEXT
Saint Mary stays at home when they host Clarke University on Saturday and Briar Cliff University on Sunday. Both doubleheaders will begin at 1 p.m.