NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Bats were flying for the University of Minnesota Morris in their matchups against Penn State Mont Alto and Gwynedd Mercy. The Cougars totaled up 23 hits on the day to shut out the Nittany Lions 5-0 and defeat the Griffins 8-6. The Cougars look to continue their win streak with two games March 15 against UMass Boston and Vermont State University Castleton.

Minnesota Morris 5, Mont Alto 0

Scoring got rolling for the Cougars in the top of the third inning when Kendra Schmitz singled up the middle to bring Alyssa Thornton in to score. Minnesota Morris continued to advance their lead in the fourth, with Malena Mahoney kicking it off on an Ashley Albert RBI. Albert then scored a run of her own as Olivia Losee hit a sacrifice fly to move the Cougars closer to victory. Anna Athey was the final Cougar to score in the fourth, working her way around the bases and reaching home plate on an RBI from Thornton. The scoring would end shortly after for Minnesota Morris, but not before Schmitz snuck in one last run in the top of the fifth to stretch the Cougar lead to 5-0. With both teams being unable to make their way around the bases again, Minnesota Morris recorded their second shutout in South Carolina.

Schmitz and Thornton were the heavy hitters for the Cougars in this matchup, going 3-4 and 2-4 on hits respectively. Albert brought two runs home for Minnesota Morris. Thornton also earned nine putouts at first base for the Minnesota Morris defense. Morgan Wilhelm led the Cougar defense from the circle, giving up just five hits in the game, and forcing eight flyouts and 12 groundouts to secure the shutout. 

Minnesota Morris 8, Gwynedd Mercy 6

Minnesota Morris broke the scoring open in the top of the first with a run from Thornton on a Jillian Anderson triple. The Griffins responded in the bottom of the first to keep the game tied up. After two scoreless innings for both teams, the Cougars put their second mark up in the top of the fourth. Isabelle Derhak, who came in to pinch run for Minnesota Morris, flew in to home on a wild pitch. Gwynedd Mercy would answer right back with a run in  the bottom of the inning, not allowing the Cougars to secure a lead just yet. 

A run from Thornton in the top of the fifth went unanswered to secure a 5-2 lead. Minnesota Morris would hold onto that lead for the rest of the game, starting with a three run inning in the top of the sixth. Sierra Stevens brought in Athey and Mahoney to score, securing two RBIs for herself and a three point lead for the Cougars. Thornton brought Stevens in to score shortly after and Minnesota Morris closed out the sixth inning up 6-3 after the Griffins scored one in the bottom of the inning. The final two runs for Minnesota Morris came from Kennedy Biegler and Waabigwan Wagner, who raced around the bases on a single from Athey. Despite Gwynedd Mercy securing three runs in the bottom of the seventh, the Cougars held onto the lead to win 8-6. 

Alyssa Thornton pitched for Minnesota Morris in this tough matchup, recording two strikeouts, seven flyouts, and 11 groundouts. Anderson went an impressive 3-4 on hits, while Thornton and Schmitz knocked two into play. Stevens and Athey both earned two RBIs for the Cougar offense. Anderson secured 11 putouts to aid the Minnesota Morris defense.