On Saturday afternoon, the Alma College softball team traveled to Saint Mary's College needing to win two games and getting some help in other places to make the MIAA playoffs.

However, it was not in the cards as the Scots lost game one of the doubleheader by a score of 6-4, eliminating the team from playoff consideration. Alma did bounce back and defeat the Belles by a score of 7-5 in eight innings in dramatic fashion.

The split gave the Scots a final league record of 8-8 and they are 15-15 overall, while SMC finished their season at 16-16 in 2014 and 6-10 in the MIAA.

Alma will conclude their 2014 campaign tomorrow at Scots Park, when they take on Aquinas College in Pink Day. Game time for the doubleheader is 2:30 p.m.

Game 1

The game was scoreless before the Belles scored single runs in the bottom of the second and the third off of Scots starting Jr. P Cori Witham (North Muskegon/North Muskegon) for a 2-0 lead.

Alma tied it at 2-2 in the top of the fourth. Sr. 1B Christina Snoblen (Alma/Alma) walked and Fr. Celeste Boyer (South Lyon/South Lyon East) pinch ran for her. A sacrifice bunt moved Boyer over to second and she would score when Witham slugged a homerun over the center field fence.

Saint Mary's broke the tie by scoring four times on four hits - three singles and a double - off of Witham to take a commanding 6-2 advantage. However, Alma would take one last stab at a comeback in the top half of the seventh inning.

Sr. LF Allie Jo Nave (Onaway/Onaway) singled with one out and So. C Kayla Merice (Dorr/Wayland) followed with a two-run homerun to right centerfield, cutting the deficit to 6-4. But, that is all Alma would muster and the Belles held on for the two-run victory.

Witham took the loss in the circle after going 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits and six earned runs to go with five base on balls. Jr. P Samantha Pierce (Clarklake/Michigan Center) went 0.1 innings and Jr. P Breu Olling (Breckenridge/Breckenridge) threw one inning in relief.

Nave finished three for four at the plate, while Jr. 3B Lea Lusk (Columbiaville/Lakeville) was two for four in the loss.

Game 2

In the nightcap, SMC opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first against Olling, who started in the circle for the Scots. Alma notched single runs in the bottom of the second, third and fourth innings on RBI's by Fr. 2B Anna Couture (Posen/Posen), Jr. SS Devan Olah (White Lake/Lakeland) and Jr. CF Brooke Hein (Grand Rapids/G.R. Northview).

The Belles also scored a run in the top of the third and Alma had a 3-2 lead after four innings. The Scots would increase that advantage to 5-2 with two tallies in the bottom of the fifth frame as Olah and Witham each had RBI hits.

Saint Mary's then scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 5-5 on two homers - a solo shot and a two-run blast. Neither team would score in the regulation seven innings, so the two teams went to an extra eighth frame.

After the Belles had a single but no runs in the top half of the inning off of Pierce, Alma came to bat with a chance to win the game. Then, the Scots recorded two quick outs and it looked as though a ninth inning was going to be played.

However, that was not the case. Nave singled up the middle and was followed by a dramatic walk-off homerun over centerfield by Merice, giving Alma the 7-5 victory.

Olling threw seven innings and allowed five hits and five earned runs with four walks and two strikeouts. Pierce got the win after her one inning of relief in the circle. Merice, Olah and Snoblen all had two hits for Alma in the win.