COLUMBUS, Ind. – The University of Saint Francis Softball team traveled to Columbus, Indiana to play on the road against IUPUC at Jennings County HS, Sunday afternoon in a doubleheader. The Lady Cougars won both games in the series winning Game 1, 14-3 and Game 2, 11-3.

In Game 1, Kenzie Rust gained the start on the mound and pitched a complete game striking out 9 batters and only giving up 7 hits throughout the entirety of the game. After asking her about how she prepares herself coming off a very busy couple of weeks she said that, "I remind myself of why I'm here and of who I'm playing for. I want to push myself to do the best for the team when I know they are giving their best efforts as well." She also stated that, "I pitch my game for them and they always back me up."

The Lady Cougars brought the heat at the start of the game gaining 3 runs in the 1st and 4th innings with a gigantic 5th inning with the Lady Cougars gaining 8 runs. The Lady Cougars had multiple doubles with Macie Dowd, Abi Erwin, Mady Minnich, and Anna Smith all hitting one and Tori Miller tallying up 2 doubles in 6 innings. The Lady Cougars also tallied up 8 RBI's from Brooklyn McCord, Anna Smith, and Ashley Childress all hitting one, Macie Dowd hitting 2, and Abi Erwin batting in 3.

Macie Dowd also hit her second in-game home run of the season. When asked about it she said, "It felt amazing to hit my second home run, it's what got us on the board first, and it was a relief to score first as a team." When asked the difference between the one hit on Thursday against Goshen and the one hit today she said, "It felt the same as my first home run, and it was great to celebrate both with my team."

In Game 2, Mia Werner earned her start on the mound and pitched a complete game, striking out 10 batters and only giving up 7 hits. The Lady Cougars continued to bring the heat into game 2 of the day. Earning runs in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th innings, there were not many 0's on the board when the Lady Cougs went to bat. The Lady Cougars had a huge 7th inning gaining 7 runs. The Lady Cougars also had 9 RBI's throughout the 7 innings played with Macie Dowd and Taylor Horsely both hitting one, Dani Karr and Anna Smith both hitting 2, and Paiton Iliff hitting 3 RBI's.

Paiton Iliff also hit her 4th home run of the season. When asked how it felt hitting a home run during a college game she said that, "Hitting a homerun is one of the best feelings," and her favorite part is, "...seeing the team as I'm rounding third base and them going crazy for me." When asked about her favorite homerun she's ever hit she said, "My first [Homerun] against Huntington this year. It was my first career home run in college and my dad and dog both got to witness it!"

When asking Dowd and Rust about some of the things they look forward to this season Dowd said that she's looking forward to, "Growing as a team and getting the opportunity to play some of the teams we have already faced and hopefully have a better outcome." Rust stated that this year, "We [as a team] want to be better for our seniors because last year we didn't play the way we wanted to for them and we don't want to repeat that mistake again."

Iliff stated that, "One of my favorite traditions that we just started is praying before every game," when asked about some of her favorite traditions that the girls do as a team.

The Lady Cougars will continue their season at 1-11 in the Crossroads League and 7-15 overall. USF will be at home for their next doubleheader to compete against Crossroads League competitor Bethel University. The Lady Cougars will play Bethel University Tuesday (April 4th) with 3pm & 5pm start times. The Bethel University Pilots are currently 0-12 in the Crossroads League and 1-21 overall and on a 14 game losing streak.

Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.

-Haylea Sorrell-