The Lawrence University softball team pounded out 23 hits in the doubleheader and got two solid pitching performances to sweep a nonconference doubleheader from North Central (Minn.) University on Wednesday at Whiting Field.
Lawrence (10-11) won the opener 8-0 and took the nightcap 17-3.
In the opener, Emily Perish went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in, and Carli Gurholt was 2-for-2 and blasted a two-run homer for the Vikings. Alissa Geipel and Brielle Bartes, both freshmen, both hit their first career homers in the first game.
Shannon Murray went the distance, allowing three hits, striking out seven and walking none, to pick up the win. Danielle Anderson went the distance and took the loss.
Lawrence jumped on the Rams (9-8) in the bottom of the first with four runs. Gurholt hit a two-run homer in the inning and Perish picked up a run-scoring single.
Bartes led off the fourth with a homer, and the Vikings added another run in the fifth to lead 6-0. Lawrence put the game away with two more runs in the sixth. Geipel led off the inning with a homer, and Perish delivered a run-scoring single to end the game.
In the nightcap, Cathy Kaye went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs to pace the Lawrence offense. Murray was 2-for-4, homered and drove in three runs, and Alex Chiodo and Cory Paquette both went 2-for-2.
Perish went the distance to pick up the win. She allowed six hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. Bethany Bostrom gave up 12 hits, struck out one and walked four to take the loss.
After giving up two runs in the top of the first, the Vikings struck back with four in the bottom half of the inning. Perish had a two-run single in the inning, and Chiodo picked up a run-scoring double.
Lawrence led 5-2 when it scored three times in the third with two runs scoring on Kaye’s single.
The Vikings then sealed the win with nine runs in the fourth. Kaye smacked a two-run double inside the bag at third, and Murray blasted a three-run homer to complete the scoring.
Lawrence returns to action on Saturday when it travels to the University of Chicago.