TUCSON, Ariz. --- The University of St. Francis softball team closed out its Arizona trip with a bang, gaining its first sweep of the week by outscoring the opposition 19-2 on Saturday. The Fighting Saints (11-5) opened with an 8-2 victory against Dickinson State University (ND) before blanking Valley City State University (ND) 11-0.
For the second time this season,
Hannah Vachon (6-1) earned the wins in both ends of the doubleheader. She also tossed her second shutout in as many days, while allowing just three hits over her combined nine innings of work, including one stretch where she retired 20 straight batters.
No fewer than five Saints collected at least three hits over the two games with
Bridget McDermott going 4-for-4 in Game 1 and
Danielle Callahan totaling four hits and four runs batted in on the afternoon.
Kaylie Sippel drove in another three runs, while
Maddie Massaro delivered three hits and two RBIs.
Game 1: USF 8, Dickinson State 2
The Saints went right to work on their biggest offensive day of the year with three runs in the first inning and two more in the second inning. Eight players in all recorded a hit with six driving in at least one run against Dickinson State (4-11).
McDermott led the former group with her four hits, while Massaro topped the latter chart with a pair of RBIs on three hits.
Brittany Osborne and Callahan both went 2-for-4.
Vachon came on in relief of starter
Jordan Closs in the fourth inning. After allowing a single to the first batter she faced (who would eventually be picked off a short time later), Vachon went on to retire the final 11 batters she faced, striking out two in the process.
Game 2: USF 11, Valley City State 0
Vachon started right where she left off in Game 1 by opening Game 2 retiring the first nine batters she faced before giving up back-to-back singles. Those were the only two hits she allowed in the five-inning affair, while striking out five batters. She also faced just one batter over the minimum.
Offensively, the Saints blew the game open in the fourth inning when they plated seven runs. Callahan drove in three of the runs on a pair of hits, while Sippel provided a two-run single in the third inning.
Rose Mwaro joined Callahan with a pair of hits against the Vikings (5-9).
Notes: In essence, after giving up a single to the first batter she faced, Vachon fell one batter short of tossing a perfect game by retiring the next 20 batters she faced (11 in the first game and nine in the second). In all, she would face just one batter over the minimum over the two games with seven strikeouts, no walks and just the three hits allowed … Mwaro has her hitting streak up to seven games and Osborne six after both players were among five total Saints to record at least one hit in each end of the twinbill … With her multi-RBI game in the nightcap, Osborne has twice as many such games (six) as her next closest teammate … The Saints are off until Saturday when they take on Cornerstone University (Mich.) in their home opener at the Harlow Lockwood Softball Complex.
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