04/25/06

Senior pitcher Laura Heise picked up both wins for the Saints, allowing a total of four earned runs on five hits in the pair of victories. Heise (19-4) struck out 13 in game one and 12 more in the nightcap, increasing her career total to 1,042 strikeouts and moving her past Laurie Machuga’s (Allegheny College, 1993-96) career mark of 1,021 into fourth place on the all-time NCAA Division-III strikeout list. Kelly Schade (1996-99) from Simpson (Iowa) College is the D-III career leader with 1,121 strikeouts.

The Saints battered ’Jills starting pitcher Leah Moder in game one, scoring four runs in the first two innings to chase Moder, then pushed four more across the plate against reliever Samantha Orme who took the loss for Northland.

Seniors Dre Thomas (Grand Rapids, Minn.), Kristi Erickson and Heise each collected a pair of hits for the Saints in the win. Erickson scored three times and had two RBI, and Heise added her fifth homerun of the season with a center field bomb in the sixth inning. The Saints were aggressive on the basebaths, too, as Erica Bond, Kayla Kahilainen and Chelsea Weiss each had a stolen base.

St. Scholastica jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning of game two but back-to-back homers off Heise tied things up at 3-3 in the fourth.

The Saints bounced right back with four of their own in the next inning, then scored five more in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Bond, Rilee Dawson and Missy Erickson led the offensive attack for the Saints with two hits apiece. Bond’s solo shot in the seventh was her fourth homerun of the year; Madden and Dawson both picked up a pair of RBI in the win.

The No. 16 Saints welcome UW-Stout to Kenwood Field in Duluth on Thurs­day, then travel to Ashland, Wisconsin for the second of two conference Cross­over weekends. Last weekend at the first Crossover in Mankato, the Saints were a perfect 4-0.