BVU Softball Swept by Mount Marty in Storm Lake Doubleheader

A diving play at second base ended BVU's last hope as Mount Marty swept the Beavers 5-0 and 3-1 in a nonconference doubleheader in Storm Lake on Tuesday, leaving the home crowd with a gut-punch finish in the nightcap.

With runners at second and third, two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and the Beavers trailing 3-1, Jillian Garcia lined what appeared to be a game-tying hit into the middle of the diamond. Mount Marty's second baseman dove, gloved it, and ended the game.

The nightcap was BVU's better chance. It went scoreless through three innings before Hanna Merron's sacrifice fly tied the game at one in the fourth. The score held for three more innings before Mount Marty's offense broke through in the seventh, stringing together an RBI triple and a run-scoring double to make it 3-1. Lancer starter Ella Brown had steadily kept the Beavers at bay, scattering 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings without allowing a crooked number. Jaylynn Craun was BVU's most productive bat in the game, collecting two of the team's six hits and scoring the Beavers' only run.

The opener was less competitive from the start. Mount Marty struck on a sacrifice fly in the first and added runs in the second and fourth innings on an RBI triple and a solo home run, closing out the shutout 5-0. BVU starter Kali Irlmeier worked four innings and allowed four runs on five hits before Rylie Garner took over and handled the final three frames, giving up just one hit and recording a strikeout. The offense gave Garner nothing to work with. Garcia and Jordan Fabirkiewicz each singled for the only two BVU hits of the game.

The sweep dropped BVU to 5-15 on the season. Two hits in a shutout followed by six hits in a one-run loss in the same afternoon points to a persistent gap: not enough hard contact when runners are on base, and an inability to close innings in high-leverage moments late.

Those are the two things the Beavers must fix. Converting runners in scoring position starts with situational hitting, something the lineup failed to deliver in both games against the Lancers. On the mound, Garner's clean relief work in game one showed BVU has depth capable of recording outs, but the staff needs to hold leads into the late innings rather than watching opponents string together extra-base hits in the seventh.

BVU returns to the BVU/Storm Lake High School ball fields Saturday for a nonconference doubleheader against Grinnell College, first pitch at 1 p.m. A 5-15 record does not leave much margin, and each nonconference game before the heart of the schedule becomes a chance to establish habits that losing close games cannot.