Leavenworth, Kan.—

Game One:

The Spires scored in five different innings and used Grace Rose's inside-the-park, two-run home run as the deciding swing in a 7-4 victory in game one over Kansas Wesleyan on Thursday at Salina South High School.

The Spires set the tone early and never trailed, taking a 1-0 lead in the first when Rose singled to center to bring home Kylie Vandervoort. USM added two more runs in the second to stretch the margin to 3-0. Brianna Camarena doubled down the right-field line to score Analesa Gonzales, and Nora Burrell followed with an RBI single. In the third, Desarae Chavez delivered another impressive run-scoring hit, a single to left-center that plated Rose for a 4-0 advantage.

The Coyotes answered in the fourth when Mallet lined a two-run double down the left-field line, trimming the deficit to 4-2. USM would respond immediately with the game's biggest moment. Rose drove the ball to right-center and raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run, bringing in two runs and restoring control at 6-2. The Spires added one more run in the fifth when Burrell tripled down the right-field line to score Camarena and push the lead to 7-2.

Burrell finished with two hits and two RBIs, including the fifth-inning triple, while Camarena also had two hits and an RBI. Rose led the way with two hits, three RBIs, two runs scored and the only home run of the game. Chavez contributed on both sides, driving in a run at the plate and working 4.1 innings in relief. She allowed six hits and four earned runs, walked three and struck out two.

KWU made one more push in the fifth. Wilcox delivered an RBI single, and Hammen added another run-scoring single to bring the Coyotes within 7-4. But Saint Mary's defense held the rest of the way, and the Spires finished with nine hits, no errors and enough early offense to secure the road win. Kansas Wesleyan totaled seven hits and also played error-free defense, but the four-run hole through three innings proved too much to overcome.

Game Two:

Kansas Wesleyan would come back with a vengeance in game two opening a one-run game with a four-run fourth inning and went on to defeat the Spires and split the series 8-2. The decisive stretch came after the Spires had stayed within striking distance through the middle innings, but KWU used timely hitting and capitalized on extra opportunities to separate.

USM struck first in the opening inning. Nora Burrell came around to score on Raegan McConnell's RBI double to center, giving the Spires a 1-0 lead. Kansas Wesleyan answered immediately with a run in the bottom of the first, then moved in front for good in the second. Lange doubled home a run, and Wilcox followed with a two-run single during a three-run inning that pushed the Coyotes ahead 4-1.

However, the game turned in the fourth. The Coyotes would score four times in the inning, highlighted by Hammen's two-RBI single. Two wild pitches during the rally also produced runs as the Coyote lead grew to 8-1. That inning gave KWU enough cushion behind starter Herrera, who worked a complete game and limited Saint Mary to two runs on five hits while striking out seven.

USM picked up its second run in the fifth when Grace Brewer scored on Kylie Vandervoort's triple down the left-field line. Vandervoort's extra-base hit accounted for the Spires' only triple of game two, while McConnell's first-inning drive produced the team's lone double. USM finished with five hits, two walks and five runners left on base.

Kansas Wesleyan finished with eight hits and six RBIs, led by Hammen, Wilcox and Lange. Hammen had two hits and three RBIs, Wilcox added two hits and two RBIs, and Lange scored twice while driving in one run. The Coyotes also played a clean defensive game with no errors, while the Spires were charged with two errors over six innings in the field.

The Spires will come home for one final weekend against the Bethany College Swedes on Senior Day this Saturday, April 18^th with first pitch slated for 2:00 p.m. and senior recognitions set to take place between games one and two.