Emmitsburg, Md. (April 18, 2026)--Courtney Chew's RBI groundout in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted Mount St. Mary's to a 3-2 win over Sacred Heart to earn a split in Saturday's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheader at Our Lady of the Meadows Field on Saturday. The Pioneers took the opening game, 4-2. Mount St. Mary's improves to 15-24 overall and 10-8 in the MAAC with the split.
GAME 1: SACRED HEART 4, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 2
Two home runs in the top of the second inning proved to be the difference as Sacred Heart posted a 4-2 win in the opening game ot today's doubleheader.
Emmaleigh Zagrodnicheck pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the Mount while
Avery Dinges added a solo home run in the loss for the Mount.
Sacred Heart (16-27, 11-10 MAAC) took advantage of a hit batter, a pair of walks and a pair of wild pitches to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Elle Leckrone was hit the first pitch of the day from Mount starter
Sophia Schmehl. A walk to the next batter put runners on first and second, and a wild pitched move the pair of runners into scoring position. Schmehl got the first out on a liner to short, but another wild pitch allowed Leckrone to score the first run of the day. Schmehl was able to avoid further damage in the inning, striking out Nicole Henke with runners on second and third.
The Pioneers added to the lead with three runs on a pair of home runs in the top of the second inning. Kaelyn Freed hit a solo shot over the left-field fence for a 2-0 lead, and after a Leckrone single, Cierra Bender belted a two-run shot for a 4-0 edge. Dinges led off the bottom of the third with her second home run of the season to make it 4-1. The Mount added another run in the fourth when
Sharon Manni walked with the bases loaded.
The Mount had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth, but were unable to score. Sacred Heart starter Emily Heath pitched around a one-out walk in the seventh to secure the win.
Mount St. Mary's had baserunners the entire first game, stranding 13 runners on base in the loss. Dinges went 1-for-2 with two walks, a home run and a stolen base while Manni went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Schmehl allowed four runs in four innings, striking out five while allowing four hits. Zagrodnicheck retired all nine batters she faced in three innings of relief.
GAME 2: MOUNT ST. MARY'S 3, SACRED HEART 2 (8 innings)
Mount St. Mary's scored the winning run on
Courtney Chew's RBI groundout to short in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 3-2 win to earn the split in the twinbill.
Ellie Meier picked up the win with a complete-game effort with four strikeouts.
Henke opened the scoring with a sole home run in the top of the second inning to put Sacred Heart on top. The Mount answered in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs to take its first lead of the day.
Zoe Pachoca reached on an error amd moved to second on a wild pitch.
Kelsie Bandelow was hit by a pitch, and
Lia Festa moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt. After a popout,
Grace Koberg reached on an infield hit between first and second base with both runners scoring on the play for a 2-1 lead. Sacred Heart answered with an unearned run in the top of the third to tie the score.
From there, it was a pitcher's duel between Meier and Sacred Heart starter Emily Campion. Meier held Sacred Heart to one hit the rest of the way to earn the win. The Pioneers threatened in the top of the eighth when Katherine Burris walked and Olivia Bibbo reached on a bunt single to put runners on first and second. Meier was able to get pinch hitter Sydney Hess to hit a grounder to second where Dinges tagged the runner and threw to first to complete a double play. Meier then got Leckrone on a line out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Dinges singled to center with one out, and promptly stole second base, her third steal of the day. Janie Loftland singled to put runners on the corners, and Chew came on to pinch hit. Chew rapped a grounder to short, and the only play was to first base, which allowed Dinges to score the winning run.
The teams will complete the three-game series at noon tomorrow.
NOTES
- Dinges now has 35 stolen bases this season, four shy of matching Bridgette Gilliano's school record of 39 set in 2022. Dinges entered the day third in the nation in stolen bases.
- This was the first meeting between the two teams since the Mount swept a three-game series at Sacred Heart in 2022 when both teams were members of the Northeast Conference. Sacred Heart holds a 28-25 lead in the all-time series. The Mount is 16-7 against Sacred Heart over the past 23 matchups.
- Zagrodnicheck is 2-1 with a 0.39 ERA over her past four appearances after today's three innings of scoreless relief. She has just seven hits over 18 innings over that span.
- Manni went 1-for-3 at the plate in each game, and is now hitting a team-best .426 in MAAC games this year.
