On a sunny but brisk Wednesday afternoon at Scots Park, the Alma College Softball team hosted Aquinas College in the 2015 home opener. Alma took game one of the doubleheader by a score of 9-1 in six innings as the team used two homeruns and a big double to win by the eight-run rule.

Game 1 - Alma 9, Aquinas 1 (6 Innings)

Aquinas opened up the scoring in the top of the first that started with a single off of Scots starting So. P  Morgan Stratton (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc). A wild pitch and a passed ball advanced the runner to third and she came home on a single and a 1-0 lead.

The Scots tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame, as Jr. DH Kayla Merice (Dorr/Wayland) singled with one out and moved to second on a walk by Sr. 3B Lea Lusk (Columbiaville/Lakeville). A ground out to the pitcher and then a walk loaded the bases with two outs. The next batter, So. 2B Anna Couture (Posen/Posen), reached on an error that scored Merice.

Alma went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the third. Lusk singled to lead off the injury and So. Celeste Boyer (South Lyon/South Lyon East) pinch ran for the Scots. Collier followed with a double that scored Boyer and the Scots had the one-run lead.

The lead was extended to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth as Sr. C Marie Zill (Chelsea/Chelsea) led off with a hit and then stole second. She moved to third on a single by Lusk and then crossed the plate after a hit by Collier.

The Scots scored three runs in both the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to capture the 9-1 margin of victory. The team had five hits in the two frames, including homeruns by Collier and Merice. But, the game-winning hit was delievered by Jr. pinch hitter Kassidi Adams (Montrose/Montrose) - a double that scored the final two runs.

Stratton went a complete game for the win, allowing five hits, one walk with seven strikeouts. Collier finished three for four with a homer, double and three RBI's, while Adams and Merice had two RBI's a piece.

Game 2 - Alma 9, Aquinas 8

The nightcap was a wild one that went back and forth for seven innings, but in the end, the Scots won by a run and earned the two-game sweep by a score of 9-8.

With the two wins, the Scots improved to 8-8 on the season, while the Saints fell to an identical mark of 8-8.

It didn't look like a sweep at the beginning of the game however, as Aquinas (the home team) scored two runs in the bottom of the first and one more in the second. The Saints scored three runs, but had just one hit as they were helped by two Alma errors and four walks by Scots Fr. P Katie McClure (Manchester/Manchester).

Alma answered back strongly with three runs in the fourth frame to tie it at 3-3. Lusk singled to lead off the inning and Boyer pinch ran before Collier hit her second homerun of the day to make it a 3-2 game. So. LF Jade Garcia (Kentwood/East Kentwood) followed with a double and scored the tying run on a single by McClure.

After Aquinas scored two of their own off of McClure in the bottom of the fourth, Alma exploded for five tallies in the top of the fifth to take an 8-5 advantage. Sr. SS Devan Olah (White Lake/Lakeland) started things off with a homerun and Merice followed with a single. After a sac bunt by Lusk, Fr. PR Erin Lee (Commerce/Walled Lake Northern) pinch ran for Merice and scored a run on a hit by Collier.

Trailing by one at this point, Garcia walked and Fr. PR Allie Cianciolo (Troy/Troy) moved to second. Couture reached on a bunt single that loaded the bases for McClure, who grounded out to third but knocked in a run. Fr. RF Mary Brooks (Portland/Portland) followed with a double that scored two runs and Alma led by three.

The Saints would respond with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth (all charged to McClure) that tied the ballgame at 8-8 going into the seventh. McClure led off the frame with a walk and moved to second on a sac bunt, but a strikeout would keep her there with two outs. However, Olah proved to be the hitting hero of game two by doubling home McClure and giving the Scots the 9-8 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Alma relief Sr. P Breu Olling (Breckenridge/Breckenridge) ran into some trouble by walking the leadoff batter. Sr. P Samantha Pierce (Clarklake/Michigan Center) came on in relief and was able to record three outs for the save and preserve the Scots victory.

Olling earned the pitching win by going 0.2 innings and Pierce got the save by recording the three outs in the seventh. McClure ended the day by throwing 5.1 innings and allowing six hits, eight runs allowed (five earned), six walks and she had four strikeouts.

At the plate, Collier earned three more RBI's (six for the day) by going two for three, while McClure, Brooks and Olah each had two RBI's in the victory.