NEW ALBANY, Ind. --- The University of St. Francis softball team powered its way to its second sweep in as many days getting clutch home runs from Kara Kleinert and Brittany Osborne to beat Indiana University Southeast 6-2 and 5-4 on Sunday afternoon.

Kleinert homered in each end of the twinbill – her first two as a Saint – and Osborne broke a three-all tie with her round-tripper in the nightcap.  Both players registered four runs batted in on the afternoon with Osborne going 4-for-8 on the day.

They were joined by Danielle Callahan (3-for-7) in notching at least one hit in each game of the doubleheader.

On the mound, Madisen Tucker was solid in her 2023 debut in Game 1.  She and Bridget McDermott both earned their first wins of the campaign.

Game 1: USF 6, Indiana Southeast 2
The Saints (4-0) staked themselves to a 6-0 lead after three innings following a pair of three-run frames.  Osborne and Gracyn Gabriel provided back-to-back RBI doubles before Callahan added a run-scoring single in the second inning.  For both Osborne and Callahan, it was their first of two hits in the contest. 

Kleinert delivered the first of her two home runs one inning later, a three-run shot to left field to score McDermott and Tucker, both of whom had one-out walks.

Tucker (1-0) went the distance in the circle, scattering six hits, while allowing just one earned run.

Game 2: USF 5, Indiana Southeast 4
Trailing 3-0 after a three-home run third inning by the hosts, the Saints waited until their last at-bats before extending their winning streak to four games.  Singles from Callahan and McDermott enabled Tucker to start the rally by driving in the first run on a groundout in the fourth inning.

In the fifth inning, Kenna Kleinert singled and went to second on a passed ball before Osborne drove her home with a double.  The duo would also work together two innings later to complete the rally with their second hits of the game.

After Kara Kleinert tied the contest at 3-3 with her second home run of the day to open the seventh inning, Kenna Kleinert followed with a single to set up Osborne's eventual game-winning home run two batters later.

Indiana Southeast, however, would not go down without a fight.  The Grenadiers (3-3) hit their fourth home run of the game with two outs in the bottom of the inning and followed with a single to put the tying run on base. 

After tossing three shutout innings prior to the seventh, McDermott (1-0) was not about to be denied her first win of the campaign, coaxing a groundout to end the contest.  She allowed the one run and four hits in her four innings of relief.

Notes: The two home runs by Kara Kleinert were the first two hits of her St. Francis career … Osborne had quite the weekend.  She went 8-for-16 with eight runs batted in and five runs scored.  Six of her eight hits went for extra bases, including four doubles and one triple … McDermott also hit .500 (5-for-10) over the four games with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored … The Saints are off until next Sunday when they head to Arizona for 12 games over seven days starting with single games against University of Jamestown (ND) and College of Saint Mary (Neb.) on March 5.    

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