Game 1:

Designated hitter Danielle Tschann’s extra inning walk-off home run lifted the St. Thomas softball team to a 10-9 victory over Bethel in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at South Athletic Field.

Starting pitcher Kendra Bowe said she was it great to be back out here and playing in Minnesota.

“It’s great to play on our home field. We are so blessed to have the facilities we have. It was a beautiful day, sun shining, it was a gorgeous spring day. It felt great be out here,” Bowe said.

The Tommies (17-3 overall, 1-1 MIAC) didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard against the Royals in their conference-opener. Third baseman McKenzie Wergin smacked a leadoff single to center field, followed up by right fielder Annie Boyer’s double. Helped by two sacrifices, St. Thomas was able to record two runs in the bottom of the first inning to put Bethel (8-6 overall, 1-1 MIAC) in an early hole.

Bethel third baseman Micayla Moore homered to center in the top of the second, but that was all the scoring the Royals could muster in the inning. The Tommies were able to tie the game later in the inning on an RBI single off the bat of catcher Brooke Pantila.

The scoring festivity continued in the third as the Royals were able to push two runs across the plate, but again the Tommies answered.

Left fielder Katie Jo Delisle doubled to score center fielder Bianca Peterson. With two runners on base Micaela Trainor fouled off several pitches in a long plate appearance before delivering a three run home run to deep center. St. Thomas scored four runs on three hits and lead 7-3 after three innings.

The Tommie defense shut down the Royals in order to record a scoreless top of the fourth inning.

St. Thomas added to its lead with singles from Boyer, Petersen, Delisle and a double off the bat of Wergin. The Tommies scored twice more to go ahead by six runs after four innings. It appeared the home team was well on its way to a blow-out victory on a summer-like day in St. Paul, but Bethel had other ideas.

Two solo home runs for the Royals in the top of the fifth inning cut the deficit to four runs and for the first time in the game, the Tommies failed to answer with runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Four hits, a walk and a costly error by second baseman Heather Kascht in the sixth inning allowed Bethel to come from behind to even the game. St. Thomas was able to throw out one Bethel runner at the plate in the inning to keep the game tied at 9-9.

The defense for both teams took over the game late as neither team was able to get anything going offensively. Bethel shut down the high-powered St. Thomas offense in the bottom of the sixth.

After no score in the seventh, the teams went to extra innings.

After holding the Royals scoreless in the top of the eighth, the Tommies entered the bottom of the inning with a chance for a walk-off win. Tschann came up to the plate and sent an outside pitch over the right-field fence to give the Tommies the 10-9 win.

“She was throwing me outside and outside. I’ve been working on that pitch, and I was ready for it. I was made, I was ready to do some damage. I’m glad I got that pitch,” Tschann said. “I was relieved when it went out, I’m glad we won the game.”

Coach John Tschida said he was proud of his team for battling through the adversity and getting the win in the opening game.

“All year we’ve been playing from behind. We’re not winning the free games, but we are earning the other ones. Which is a good thing and a bad thing … We’ve showed a lot of character this season and a lot of fight,” Tschida said.

Game 2:

Trainor’s RBI tied the game in the fourth inning, but St. Thomas was unable to complete the sweep of Bethel, dropping the second game of Saturday’s twin bill 7-2 to the Royals.

While St. Thomas scored 10 runs in the first game of the day, the second game was a different story for the Tommies.

St. Thomas shortstop Angie Jackson’s throwing error and an RBI single off the bat of Bethel catcher Caroline Kivisto allowed the Royals (9-8) to take an 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

St. Thomas answered back with a run of its own. This time it was a solo home run from Boyer that tied the game at 1-1.

Bethel took its second lead of the game in the top of third inning. Two walks and a RBI single from designated hitter Kalyn Sorensen put the Royals back in the lead by a run.

Despite Tschann’s lead-off walk in the bottom of the inning, the Tommies again were unable to move her around the bases.

A Delisle single to left field and another RBI from Trainor tied the game at 2-2 for St. Thomas in the bottom of the fourth inning, but in this game it was Bethel who consistently answered the call. Trainor said she didn’t get the individual results she wanted during the Tommies’ recent trip to Florida, so she put in the work to be better at the plate.

“This is a game of failure, and when you aren’t getting the results you want, it’s about coming back here and grinding day in and day out. It’s having the purpose and the desire to be great. I didn’t put any pressure on myself today,” Trainor said.

The defensive struggles continued for the Tommies in the top of the sixth inning. Three Royal singles accompanied by two Tommie errors and a wild pitch helped Bethel score three times in the inning to increase its lead to 7-2. Tschida said the defense was a concern today.

“Our pitchers have been really good all year thus far, but today was an off day and it happens. They weren’t terrible, but there weren’t on. There was a small zone for both teams, so that made it tough. We made some good pitches, but then our defense let us down,” Tschida said.

St. Thomas will travel to Collegeville, Minnesota on Monday for two make-up games against St. Ben’s.

Travis Swan can be reached at swan9954@stthomas.edu.