FAYETTE, Iowa – On the back of two standout pitching performances, University of Sioux Falls Softball swept Upper Iowa in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars (16-13, 3-1 NSIC) held off a final-inning charge for a 6-5 win in game one then rode Breanna Blacks' six shutout innings to a 5-0 victory in game two.
 
USF closes their six-game road trip with a doubleheader at Winona State on Sunday, April 2, with first pitch moved up to 11 a.m.
 
Sioux Falls 6, Upper Iowa 5
With five runs in the fourth inning and a late tally from starting pitcher Kerrigan Hoshaw, Sioux Falls held off a late Upper Iowa comeback to win game one 6-5. Hoshaw earned her second straight complete game victory and Emma Schifferle hit her first career homerun as the Cougars scored five times in the fourth inning.
 
Sioux Falls was held hitless in the first three innings, earning baserunners with four walks, but they couldn't manage a run. The Peacocks struck first with a solo homerun in the bottom of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead through three frames.
 
With Hoshaw settling in in the circle, the Cougars gave their starting pitcher a lead, then some breathing room with the help of a couple UIU errors. Kenna Heath doubled with one out and Emily Hove and Britni Broussard reached on errors, plating the first two runs. Lindsey Mossman drove in another run before Schifferle hit her first collegiate homerun, scoring two more for a 5-1 USF lead.
 
Hoshaw scattered one hit over the next three innings then came up big by helping her own cause in the top of the seventh inning. Schifferle singled to center and Hoshaw doubled her in with two outs, giving the Cougars a five-run cushion.
 
The sixth run of the game proved to be the game-winner despite USF's five-run lead as Upper Iowa reeled off four hits and capitalized on a USF error to score four times in their final at-bat. Hoshaw shook off the traffic of two runners on base and induced a game-ending groundout, preserving her complete game victory.
 
Sioux Falls 5, Upper Iowa 0
Breanna Black allowed just four hits and threw six shutout innings as Sioux Falls completed the sweep with a 5-0 victory in game two. Jasmine Ragusi hit her fourth homerun of the season and eight different Cougars recorded a hit in the win.
 
Neither starting pitcher budged in the first three innings as Black nor her UIU counterpart allowed a hit in the first inning, but each took a shutout into the fourth. The Cougars broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning, beginning with Ragusi's solo homerun to lead it off. Kenna Heath singled and was driven in by Black's double for a 2-0 USF lead.
 
Britni Broussard started the next rally in the fifth inning, leading off with a single. A sacrifice bunt and groundout moved her to third then Ragusi drove in her second run with an RBI single up the middle. USF manufactured their fourth run with three walks and an Emily Hove single, as Lindsey Mossman was credited with the RBI after her base on balls scored Ashley Meyer.
 
Black capped off her six innings of work with another shutout frame, avoiding any damage in the bottom of the sixth after allowing a leadoff double. With three groundouts she kept her shutout intact and kept her in line for her fourth win of the season.
 
Adding the final touches to their victory, the Cougars tacked on one more run in the seventh. Ragusi walked and was pinch run for by Miranda White. The next at-bat, White scored as Kerrigan Hoshaw doubled to right centerfield for their fifth run.
 
Replacing Black in the circle, freshman Courtney Mathews worked a 1-2-3 inning, completing the sweep.