April 25, 2023 -- Maranatha Athletics 

LEAD

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Maranatha couldn't grasp their first win yesterday as they fell in back-to-back games against Cardinal Stritch (1-10, 1-15).

Dani Chaney logged her second home run of the season, giving her five in her career. Racquelle Kilian contributed an RBI double in the first game.

OVERVIEW

• Results: Maranatha 1-10 Cardinal Stritch (5 innings)
• Results: Maranatha 1-15 Cardinal Stritch (5 innings)
• Venue: Maslowski Community Park - Milwaukee, Wis.
• Records: MBU (0-16), CSU (8-14)

STORY

The Sabercats earned a run early in game one after Racquelle Kilian brought Eryn Bates home with an RBI double at the top of the first inning. While this gave Maranatha some early energy, they were unable to produce anymore more than a single from Bethany Searle for the rest of game one. 

While Maranatha kept errors to the bare minimum and played clean defense, the Wolves were just on a roll at the bat, placing the ball in all the right gaps. Cardinal Stritch outhit Maranatha 12-2 in game one, leading to their 10-1 five-inning win. 

The second game continued to be a struggle for Maranatha at the bat. Although multiple Sabercats connected with the ball, the Wolves were just in all the right places defensively. 

Just when it was beginning to look like Cardinal Stritch pitcher Jenny Nimtz may throw a no-hitter, Dani Chaney stepped up to the plate at the top of the fourth and smoked the ball for her second dinger of the season. This puts her at five career home runs. 

Despite the 15-1 finish in favor of the Wolves, Maranatha was proud of the way they played. After coming off a bad game last week, full of many errors, the Sabercats played aggressively until the last out and cleaned up their fielding. 

With only four games left in the season, the Sabercats hope to add a couple of wins to their record this weekend against Mount Mary.  

SOUND BITE

"Despite what the actual score was, the girls played pretty well," said head coach Rob Thompson. "Cardinal Stritch hit the ball really well, but we put up a good run with a double in the first inning of the first game. We struggled a little bit at the plate after that, but defensively we did very well. In the second game, Dani hit a home run, for her second 'round-tripper' of the year. Overall, the girls battled until the end and I'm very proud of them."

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Maranatha Lineup Game 1 - Chaney (C), Searle (P), Baggett (1B), Bullock (2B), Kilian (SS), Bates (3B), Nerat (LF), Swaffer (CF), Mikkelson (RF)

Maranatha Lineup Game 2 - Kilian (C), Searle (P), Baggett (1B), Bullock (2B), Chaney(SS), Bates (3B), Nerat (LF), Swaffer (CF), Mikkelson (RF)

STATS

• Box Score: Game 1
• Box Score: Game 2
• Last Time: Maranatha fell to Cardinal Stritch in a doubleheader earlier this season on April 7 (0-8, 0-16)
• Series: Cardinal Stritch leads the overall series against Maranatha, 32-12

OPPONENTS

• Cardinal Stritch competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (NAIA)
• Cardinal Stritch finished the 2022 season with a record of 30-13
• This is Cardinal Stritch's last season as a program

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Waukesha for a double-header against Mount Mary on Friday 4/28 starting at 3 p.m. Details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.