Story by Sports Editor Mark Musgrave III

While you were on a plane going somewhere warm, working to make those extra dollars, or binge watching Outer Banks Season 3, spring athletes were in fact still competing on south and west coasts. If you have paid no attention to these Saints over the past week, fear not. I’ll recap Baseball, Softball, Men’s Tennis and Women’s Tennis in this article.

Baseball:  

It was a tough schedule for the Saints as they finished the week 3-5 in Florida at the RussMatt Invitational. They started the week with a win against Kansas Christian by a score of 9-1. Then came the upsetting part of the schedule being swept by #6 Webber International in four games followed by a loss to Northwestern (Iowa). The week however did finish on a high note with a sweep of Hastings with scores of 5-2 and 3-1 both games were played in shorter length with only seven innings. Players of the week were 3B Jake Paganelli, C Dane Smitz, and P Mason HIl earning the win.

Softball: 

With the best record over the break, your lady saints finished with an astonishing 11-2 record. That’s thirteen games in just five days. They outscored opponents 63-18 in games won. Impressively, on a neutral site this can be hard to do. Senior Captain Leah Ash pitched a majority of those games, only allowing 4 Earned Runs in 7 Innings Pitched. Izzy Dawson and Courtney Hardin each left the sunshine state with a dinger this week, Hardin leading the team this season with 4 HR total. 

Men’s Tennis:

If not for a close loss to Milsapps 5-4, Men’s Tennis would have left Orlando with a sweep over their four games. However they did come back to Aquinas with satisfactory wins over Florida Palms (4-3), Connecticut (5-2), and a shutout over Scranton (9-0). In Singles, Nicholas Klak and Tom Gangov left undefeated as well as Max Lowe with a 3-1 record. In Doubles, Klak and Max Goldbeck left 3-1 overall. Same to Josep Coll and Gangov. You can watch your Men’s team carry this momentum back home when they face Lawrence Tech this Friday at the Grand Rapids Racquet and Fitness Center.

Women’s Tennis:

With one match canceled due to rain, Women’s Tennis only played four games, ending the trip 2-2. The wins were triumphed over Marywood (7-2) and Millsaps (5-4), with the losses coming to Southern New Hampshire and Indiana/Purdue Indianapolis. Mimi Pacheco, Carlota Azabe, Sofia Gomez, and Joska Volder were all 2-2 in both Singles and Doubles. Alyssa Jack finished 1-3 in Singles overall.