TIGERS EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO NINE AFTER DOUBLEHEADER SWEEPS OVER TIU, JUDSON

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University softball team extended its winning streak to nine games after a pair of doubleheader sweeps over two conference schools. The Tigers cruised past Trinity International in a pair of five-inning wins Monday before taking down the Judson Eagles in both games Tuesday.

The Tigers rocked out 28 hits in the doubleheader sweep of Trinity International Monday night, winning both games in five innings to end their fourth and fifth-straight games early.

ONU got all the offense they would need in the first inning, punching in three runs in the opening frame. A massive seven-spot in the fifth inning was just what the Tigers needed to end the game in the fifth inning. Mallory O'Connor capped the big inning with a bases-clearing 3 RBI double to left field to put the finishing touches on the dominant win.

Kori Fricke went the distance as the starter, improving her already stellar record to 9-1 on the season. She pitched five innings of one-run ball on only four hits, striking out four along the way. O'Connor notched a season-high six RBIs in the win. Faith Mikos and Haley Dobson both plated a pair.

Trinity International (5-29, 1-17 CCAC) kept pace with the Tigers in game two with a two-run homer in the first inning to tie it up at 2-2. However, a Vannah Vaughan RBI single in the following frame proved to be the game-winning run as the Tigers rattled off eight unanswered runs to close out the game in five.

Five Tigers notched an RBI in the win. O'Connor plated three more runs to push her RBI total to nine on the day. Emily Blucker pitched a complete game for her fourth win of the season, scattering five hits on two earned runs with three punchouts.

In Tuesday's opener against Judson, the Tigers used two big innings to end the game early for the sixth-consecutive contest.

Dobson broke a scoreless tie in the third inning with an RBI fielder's choice before Fricke laced a 2 RBI double down the left field line to make it 3-0. The Tigers then added four more runs in the fourth inning, capped off with an RBI single by Kate Landis. O'Connor ended the game in the sixth inning with an infield RBI single.

Fricke hit double-digits in the win column, picking up her 10th win of the season after her six-inning complete-game shutout in the opener. She helped her own cause by going 2-for-2 at the plate with a game-high three RBIs.

After Judson (7-25, 4-16 CCAC) put up a pair of runs in the first inning, the Tigers trailed by a run for the majority of the nightcap. That was until a big four-spot inning, highlighted by a Megan Mann 2 RBI double to deep center field, put the Tigers back in front. They tacked on another run with an Allie Timm pinch-hit RBI single in the next inning.

Timm came in for relief on the mound, picking up the save as she shut down the Eagles over the final two frames. Olivia Flinn was credited with the win as the starter, going five innings on three earned runs with five strikeouts.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will take on Trinity International in Deerfield, Ill., Monday, April 24, for a makeup doubleheader. The first game is set for 3 p.m. CST.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu