Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LEESBURG, FLA.— The University of Sioux Falls Softball Team (8-6) used power hitting from senior Emily Hove and sterling starting pitching performances from Kerrigan Hoshaw and Courtney Matthews to sweep a nonconference doubleheader on Thursday. They defeated Charleston (5-7), 14-1 as Hove had two home runs and five RBIs. Then, Mathews improved to 4-3 by delivering a complete game six-hitter in a 2-1 win over Merrimack (6-9).    

Game one: Sioux Falls 14, Charleston 1
In their first game of the afternoon, the USF offense produced 14 runs on eight hits including two homeruns and five RBI. She hit a two-run bomb in the first inning and took it deep for a three-run homerun in the third inning. 

Junior Sydney Nieveen, who just her average up to .359 on the day, was two-for-two with a pair of singles along with a hit-by-pitch and scored twice for the Cougars. Freshman Kylan Straight had a hit and two runs scored. Freshman Lexie Swift walked twice in the game and scored both times. Lindsey Mossman accumulated three RBI in the contest while going one-for-two at the plate with one run scored. 

Senior Kerrigan Hoshaw moved to 2-1 on the season with the win over Charleston. In a game shortened to five innings due to the run rule, Hoshaw allowed just three hits and shutdown Charleston to no runs while registering a pair of strikeouts. Freshman Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag finished with two innings of solid relief.  She allowed four hits and a run..

The USF offense wasted little time getting started as Straight led off the game with a single and scored on Hove's first homerun in the very next at bat. Swift drew a walk as the third batter, advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored from a single by Nieveen as USF led, 3-0.

In the third inning, USF capitalized on four walks, two hit batters and two Charleston errors to score 11 runs. Hove hit a three-run homerun to put an exclamation point on an inning where USF gained an, 14-0 lead. 

The lone UC-W run came in the bottom of the seventh inning when Carley Turner hit a solo homer to left center field to avoid the shutout. 

Game 2: Sioux Falls 2, Merrimack 1
Mathews (4-3), a junior from Lee's Summit, Mo., pitched her fourth complete game of the season as and gained her fourth win of the season in the, 2-1 win over Merrimack on Thursday. Mathews pitched seven innings while allowing only one run on six hits and struck out six batters. 

Straight led USF on offense with two hits on four at bats with a run scored. Straight also stole two bases in the ballgame. Emmie Uitts scored the other USF run, which proved to be the game winner. 

Merrimack jumped out to an early, 1-0 lead in the first inning. Mathews then settled in and shut down the Merrimack attack.

USF, which had just three hits on the day, used a hit, two walks, a sacrifice and its running ability to put two runs across in the third inning. After Uitts walked and was sacrificed, she moved to third on a single by Straight. She scored on a Hove sacrifice fly. Then after Swift walked, she and Straight pulled a double steal with Straight scoring on the play as USF took a 2-1 lead. From there, Mathews was dealing and held Merrimack off the board.  

USF will continue tomorrow with the Florida spring break trip as they play another nonconference doubleheader on Holy Family at 8:30 a.m., and Lock Haven at 1 p.m.