ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After putting up 25 hits in a doubleheader last weekend, the College of Saint Benedict softball team's two-game total of 14 hits Saturday afternoon against UW-Eau Claire didn't particularly stand out.
 
But of those 14 hits, four were homers, and all four drove in two runs each to help the Bennies pick up a huge regional sweep of UWEC, winning 5-3 in the first game and 9-1 in six innings in the second. This marks the team's first sweep of the Blugolds in program history.
 
Saturday's first game was close throughout, but a trio of big hits helped break things open for Saint Benedict, which is now 5-1 overall. It was the Blugolds (9-5) who scored first on a two-run homer in the third inning, but Mo Burns walked and Gabby Spencer drilled a two-run homer over the center-field fence to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
 
An RBI triple in the top of the sixth put UWEC up 3-2, but Tori Harren hit a two-run single and Caitlyn Heinen sent in one more run for good measure with an RBI single to put the Bennies up 5-3 and seal the win.
 
Harren was the only player with multiple hits as she finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs for CSB, which had seven total hits. Spencer also sent in two runs. Elly Novak picked up her third win on the mound, giving up just three runs on six hits with 12 strikeouts. This is the second time this season she's recorded double-digit strikeouts, and she moves up to third in the MIAC with 36 total Ks in just three games pitched.
 
In the second game, the Bennies' bats were hot early, and a big hit ended the game in the sixth. After giving up a single and an RBI groundout in the first, Ally Hjort scattered four more hits over the next five innings to keep the Blugolds off the board.
 
CSB, on the other hand, found plenty of ways to score. Lexi Hanson had an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, and a pair of runs scored on a Blugold error to put the Bennies up 3-1 after one inning. In the second, Spencer added a second two-run homer to her daily resume, and Hannah Sundem hit the Bennies' third home run of the day – also a two-run shot – to make it 7-1.
 
That's where the score would stay until the sixth inning when Spencer reached on an error, and Katie Carlson hit her team-leading third homer of the season – the team's four two-run homer of the day – to end the game early.
 
Once again, Saint Benedict tallied just seven hits, but made them count. Carlson went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, and Sundem and Spencer also sent in two runs. Hjort gave up a single run on five hits and struck out nine batters to keep UWEC off the board.
 
The Bennies are back in action Sunday, March 21, when they host UW-Stout at 1 p.m. at the Outdoor Athletic Complex.