PEORIA, Ill. – The Mount Mary softball team kicked off its 2021 campaign at the inaugural MMU Collegiate Slugger Series at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex this weekend. In their first intervarsity action since nearly a year ago, the Blue Angels dropped a Thursday contest to Augustana, 7-1, and a double-header with Edgewood on Friday, 8-0 and 4-3.

AUGUSTANA 7, MMU 1

The Blue Angels kept it close for much of Thursday's season-opener, but a troublesome seventh inning eventually sealed the victory for the Vikings.

Augustana (1-0) put a run across in the top of the first, but Mount Mary responded in the bottom of the second with a leadoff walk issued to sophomore Brianna Ecker (Fond du Lac, Wis./Stockbridge). Ecker was moved to third by a groudout by junior Aislinn Strusz (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) and an ensuing passed ball. Finally, a misplayed grounder put in play by sophomore Kaitlyn Gilpin (Lyons, Ill./Lyons Township) scored Ecker from third to lock the game at one run apiece.

A pair of deep shots in the fourth and fifth innings would respectively lead to another run for Augustana before a pair of Blue Angel errors and trio of Viking hits led to a four-run inning to effectively put the game away.

Freshman Brianna Lupa (Plano, Ill./Plano) took the loss in her first collegiate appearance, securing a pair of strikeouts and one lone walk, while giving up 11 hits and four earned runs. Offensively, junior Taylor Hienbuecher (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) recorded the lone hit for Mount Mary—a single up the middle in the bottom of the sixth.

EDGEWOOD 8, MMU 0 (Game 1)

Offensive woes continued in the Friday morning double-header opener against Edgewood, as the Blue Angels amassed just three hits in the 8-0, five-inning decision.

Edgewood (2-2) jumped out early with a five-run, six-hit ambush in the bottom of the first inning against senior Hannah Harnsberger (Hillsboro, Ore./Jesuit). The Eagles added two more runs in the third and another in the fifth to secure the run-rule victory.

Three Blue Angels picked up their first hits of the 2021 campaign, including Strusz, junior Lauren Nylund (Muskego, Wis./Muskego), and freshman Marissa Heraly (Brillion, Wis./Brillion). Harnsberger took the loss in the circle, with Gilpin coming in for three innings of relief.

EDGEWOOD 4, MMU 3 (Game 2)

Mount Mary's offensive approach at the plate shifted in game two, as the Blue Angels manufactured an early lead in the first on an Ecker base hit to score Strusz in the first.

The Eagles snared the lead with a two-run shot in the second, and added an unearned run in the third to go up 3-1. A leadoff single by freshman Sam Allen (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) allowed for Heraly to move her to second on a sacrifice, and a Strusz single moved her to third. A double-steal attempt cut down Allen at home, but an ensuing single up the middle helped Lupa's own cause in the circle, drawing the Blue Angels to within one.

After two costly MMU errors in the top of the fifth put the Edgewood cushion back to two runs, Allen led off the home half of the fifth with a rocket to right that one-hopped over the fence. She would score via an errant throw on a Heraly sacrifice to draw MMU within one with nobody out. Pressure mounted as a Strusz sacrifice moved Heraly to third and a deep Lupa fly to right looked like it would tie the game, but a fantastic throw by the right fielder cut Heraly down at the plate to end the threat.

Both teams went quietly in the sixth and seventh innings as the Eagles held on for the double-header sweep.

Lupa pitched a gem in the game two despite the losing decision, giving up just five hits and one earned run while striking out two. She and Allen both went 2-or-4 at the plate with Lupa and Ecker picking up their first RBI of the season.

Errors proved costly all weekend for Mount Mary (0-3), recording 10 in the first three games of the season—including five in the tight weekend finale.

Mount Mary also played an exhibition contest against Loras on Thursday, falling 6-4.

ON DECK FOR MMU

Mount Mary will head back to Peoria, Ill., welcoming 11 schools for Part II of the MMU Collegiate Slugger Series. Thursday, the Blue Angels will host Carroll and Loras, followed by a Friday slate against St. Scholastica and Wisconsin Lutheran.