ADRIAN, Mich. – One swing of the bat was all it took to end the Adrian College softball team's perfect season as they dropped game one 1-0 to MIAA opponent Saint Mary's College. The Bulldogs were the only remaining team in the NCAA (Division I, II or III) and NAIA without a loss. Adrian came back to win 11-2 in the second game to pull their record to 25-1 on the season and 5-1 in the conference.

Game one proved to be a pitching duel between Adrian's ace junior Kelly Eberhardt (Wellington, Ohio/Black River) and Belles freshman Callie Selner.

Adrian loaded the bases in the bottom of the first after a one-out double by freshman Katie Dewyre (Pemberville, Ohio/Eastwood) and walks to junior Sarah Hall (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) and senior Kristin Toney (Cassopolis, Mich./Edwardsburg). However, Selner got the next two Bulldog batters to go down swinging and end what would be Adrian's best chance to score.

Adrian had an opportunity in the fourth as freshman Brittany Bertrand (Grand Blanc, Mich./Goodrich) walked with two outs and was followed with a single by sophomore Katrina Wotten (Blackstock, Ont./Cartwright). Selner again induced the next Adrian batter to fly out to left field to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth, freshman Chrissy Porter came through for Saint Mary's as she took a 3-1 pitch from Eberhardt over the center field wall for what ended up being the only run of the game.

Game two was a different story for the Bulldogs as they scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Playing as the visitors in the second game, senior Katie Adams (Flat Rock, Mich./Flat Rock) reached base on a Belles error and advanced to second on a Dewyre sacrifice bunt. Hall then walked and after separate stolen bases by Adams and Dewyre, both scored on another Belles error off the bat of freshman Jennifer Wend (Riverview, Mich./Riverview). Wend would then score on a single by Bertrand.

Both teams tacked on a run in the third inning. Adrian loaded the bases after a one out double by Wend and consecutive walks to Wotten and freshman Ravin Toner (Romulus, Mich./New Boston Huron). Junior Maggie Hein (Adrian, Mich./Lenawee Christian) knocked in Wend with a single to right field. The Belles also scored their run off a leadoff double and then came around to score after a single and a sacrifice fly.

The Belles hit their second long ball of the game, this time in the fourth, as Morgan Bedan went deep off Eberhardt.

The Bulldogs countered with a run of their own in the fifth as Wend reached on a Saint Mary's error and advanced to second on a passed ball. After Bertrand reached on an infield bunt single, Wend scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Wotten.

With the Bulldogs up 5-2 in the top of the fifth, the Adrian bats got going as they scored six runs on five hits with the aid of three Belles errors.  The first eight Adrian batters in the inning reached base with the first six coming around to score. The biggest hit of the inning came off the bat of Toner who, with two on and no outs, took a 0-2 pitch deep over the left field wall for her first career home run.

Eberhardt finished the day going 11 and a third innings striking out 14 batters while allowing three earned runs on seven hits and two walks. Sophomore Jami Shafley (Freeland, Mich./Midland) closed out the second game pitching two and two thirds innings allowing no runs and no hits while striking out four batters.

Bertrand led the Bulldogs on the day going 3-for-6 at the plate with a run and an RBI. Dewyre also had a solid day at the dish going 3-for-7 with an RBI. Toner led the Bulldogs with three RBI's while Wend led the team with three runs scored.

The game one loss ends the Bulldogs longest winning streak in school history at 24 games. The 24 consecutive wins this season by Adrian is the longest in Division III since Washington-St. Louis won 25 in a row during the 2007 season. The loss is the Bulldogs first since they fell to Trine 1-0 on May 9 of last season in the MIAA Tournament. Adrian was out-hit for the first time all season in game one 4-to-3.

Adrian will take on non-conference opponent Ohio Wesleyan in a doubleheader on April 10 at 1:00 pm.