MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team exploded on Saturday in a UMAC doubleheader sweep of North Central University, winning both games by a score of 22-0. The two victories improve the Cougars to 7-11 (3-1 UMAC) on the year.

Minnesota Morris returns home on April 13 to take on the University of Northwestern in a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.

Game One: Minnesota Morris 22, North Central 0 (5 innings)
Minnesota Morris scored at least two runs in every inning except for the second, taking command with a nine-run third inning and using three pitchers to combine for a one-hitter in the opener. 

Two hits and two errors gave the Cougars a 4-0 lead after the top of the first. Lydia Mann led off with a single and that was followed by a single from Tori Nichols-Kraft to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch brought Mann home and Autumn Theis drove in Nichols-Kraft on a RBI groundout. The next hitter, Sarah Curtiss, came all the way around to score on an error from the North Central rightfielder. 

Morgan Mathews led off the third inning with a solo home run and Mann later tripled in two more runs to make it 7-0. She would then score on a wild pitch and Olivia Diver tripled home Nichols-Kraft for a 9-0 edge. A RBI from Curtiss followed to push the lead out to 10-0 and Jasmine Jensen plated two more with a single to left center. Scoring in the third inning closed with a wild pitch that allowed Grace Penke to come home from third.

Nichols-Kraft homered to start off the fourth inning and Penke added a RBI single with two down to push the Minnesota Morris lead to 15-0. The Cougars added seven more runs in the fifth, scoring all of them with two down in the inning. Mathews, Penke, and Jensen all had RBIs to make it 19-0. With the bases loaded, Mollie Dummer tripled down the line in left to clear the bases and make it 22-0.

In a 22-hit effort from the Cougars, Mann, Nichols-Kraft, and Jensen all ended with three hits. Dummer, Diver, Mathews, Penke, and Adrianna Johnson all had two hits apiece. Penke worked the first two innings and allowed only a walk to NCU. Johnson pitched the third and gave up a hit while striking out one. Haley Wollschlager threw the last two innings and struck out four.

Game Two: Minnesota Morris 22, North Central 0 (5 innings)
North Central continued to not be able to deal with Minnesota Morris hitting in the second game of the day. The Cougars scored nine runs in the first, six in the second, four in the third, and three in the fourth. Along with 20 hits from UMN Morris, the Rams committed eight errors to compound their issues. Dummer (4-4) threw the first four innings and struck out five.

A lead-off walk to Mann and a triple from Nichols-Kraft turned out to be all the offense UMN Morris would need two batters into the game. Theis followed with a single that drove in Nichols-Kraft and Diver. Later in the frame, Jensen cleared the bases with a double to make it 7-0 and both Nichols-Kraft and Diver had RBIs again as the Cougars batted around.

Mann and Theis each drove in runs in the second, while errors from North Central allowed two other runs to score, making it 15-0. Curtiss, Mathews, and Dummer all had RBI singles on successive trips to the plate in the third, upping the UMN Morris margin to 19-0. A wild pitch, RBI groundout, and error scored three more runs in the fourth for the Cougars.

Taking over for Dummer in the circle for the fifth inning, Abby Wothe struck out a pair and didn't allow a hit. Theis had a 4-for-4 game at the plate with four RBIs and three runs scored. Mann and Curtiss each had three hits apiece as well.