Sioux Falls, SD – The University of Sioux Falls softball team came away with the sweep on Wednesday's doubleheader at Sherman Park with a Game 1, 8-0 victory and Game 2, 8-0 victory.
 
Game 1: WSC 0, USF 8
 
The Cougars came away with a shutout victory by a score of 8-0 in Game 1 on Wednesday.
 
USF got things rolling early as Emma Barta led the game off with a walk, followed by a single by Kylan Straight, followed by a three-run blast by freshman Reese Holzhueter to take an early 3-0 lead after the 1^st inning.
 
The Cougars kept the Wildcats scoreless going into the bottom of the 4^th inning when the bats heated up again for the Cougars. Kylie Madrid reached by error and Taryn Wagner made Wayne State pay with a two-run home run to extend the Cougars lead to 5-0. Emma Barta came to the plate and walked, followed by Kylan Straight reaching by error, and Reese Holzhueter stayed hot as she hit an RBI single, scoring Barta to extend the lead to 6-0. Kennedy Thomas came in to pinch hit and added a two-run RBI single of her own to make it a final score of 8-0 for USF after five innings of play.
 
The Cougars finished with seven hits on the day led by freshman Reese Holzhueter and freshman Taryn Wagner with two hits each. Kylan Straight, Kait Van Der Zwaag, and Kennedy Thomas each added a hit of their own for the Cougars.
 
From the circle, Hanna Cress picked up the victory, throwing a complete game shutout, throwing five innings, surrendering zero runs, zero walks, and striking out three Wayne State hitters.
 
Game 2: WSC 0, USF 8
 
USF picked up a win in Game 2 of the doubleheader by a score of 8-0 on Wednesday.
 
The Cougars enjoyed the first inning in both games today as the bats stayed hot for USF on Wednesday afternoon. Emma Barta led off the game with a walk and stolen base, followed by a Kylan Straight double, and Kait Van Der Zwaag two-run RBI single to make it 2-0 for the Cougars. Kait followed it up on the following pitcher for a stolen base, followed by a Kennedy Thomas RBI single, scoring Kait Van Der Zwaag for a 3-0 lead after the first inning. 
 
Kennedy Thomas kept her hot bat rolling as she singled in the 3^rd inning to get the inning started. Lexie Swift came up and drew a walk, followed by a Megan Lawson RBI single, scoring Thomas to make it a 4-0 ball game. Senior Kylie Madrid came up in the following at-bat with a two-run RBI double to left center field, scoring Megan Lawson and Lexie Swift to take a commanding 6-0 lead.
 
In the bottom of the 5^th inning, the Cougars continued to swing the sticks as Kylie Madrid, Taryn Wagner, and Emma Barta all hit singles to load the bases. Kait Van Der Zwaag came up and took a hit by pitch to bring across Kylie Madrid for the seventh run of the ball game for the Cougars.
 
USF closed the door in the bottom of the 6^th inning by run-rule with another inning of pressure put on by the Cougars offense. Kennedy Thomas drew a walk, followed by a stolen base. Megan Lawson added on a single to advance Kennedy to third base, Lawson stole 2^nd base to put both runners in scoring position. During Kylie Madrid's at bat, Kennedy Thomas came across on a wild pitch by Wayne State, ending the game by a score of 8-0 for the victory.
 
The Cougars finished with eleven hits on the day led by multiple USF hitters as Kennedy Thomas, Megan Lawson, Kylie Madrid, and Taryn Wagner each had two hits apiece. Emma Barta, Kylan Straight, and Kait Van Der Zwaag each had a hit of their own.
 
From the circle, Kait Van Der Zwaag picked up the victory with a complete game six inning shutout, surrendering six hits, zero earned runs, walking two, and striking out three Wayne State hitters on the day.
 
Up Next

The Cougars are back in action on Saturday where they'll face Bemidji State in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Follow USF Softball social media for updates throughout the week.