JOLIET, Ill. --- For the third time this season, the University of St. Francis softball team posted a double shutout with its 2-0 and 9-0 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference sweep of Trinity Christian College on Thursday afternoon.
Hannah Vachon and
Madisen Tucker posted the blankings in the circle.
For Tucker (4-1), it was her first shutout of the season, while Vachon (11-2) notched her fifth. The two combined to limit Trinity Christian to nine hits over 12 innings.
Offensively,
Bridget McDermott remained hot with four hits and four runs batted in the two contests.
Danielle Callahan and
Brittany Osborne also posted at least one hit in each end of the twinbill.
Game 1: USF 2, Trinity Christian 0
The Saints (21-7, 8-2 CCAC) took advantage of a two-out error in the first inning to score the only two runs of the game. Callahan set up the first run with her double, while McDermott doubled to drive home the second score.
Neither team had many scoring chances after the first inning. The Saints put just two runners in scoring position over their final five at-bats, while Trinity Christian's best scoring chance came in the seventh inning. The Trolls (13-11, 4-6) loaded the bases with one out, but Vachon was able to force a pop-up that Osborne turned into a game-ending double play from her shortstop position.
Vachon struck out three against one walk, while allowing seven hits in the complete-game performance.
McDermott and
Zoe Ditter accounted for four of USF's seven hits with a pair each.
Game 2: USF 9, Trinity Christian 0
The Saints scored multiple runs in each of their four at-bats, while Tucker yielded just two hits to cruise to the victory. McDermott both opened the scoring and closed it for USF with her RBI single in the first inning and two-run home run in the fourth.
Osborne also drove in three runs with her two-run single in the second inning and bases-loaded walk in the third inning.
Four different Saints provided two hits apiece, including Callahan,
Kaylie Sippel and
Maddie Massaro, as part of an overall 11-hit attack.
Notes: McDermott's 4-for-6 day at the plate elevated her into the .400 Club, joining the likes of Massaro (.441), Callahan (.440), Sippel (.436) and
Rose Mwaro (.420). Extending her hitting streak to a season-high eight games, McDermott is now batting .407 … With her two hits in each game, McDermott has also now reached double figures in multi-hit games with 11 … The two wins moved the Saints into a first-place tie with Saint Xavier University in the conference standings. Both teams are 8-2 with eight games left in the league season … St. Francis is back in action on Sunday at St. Ambrose University.
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