Allison Kloft led the St. Lawrence University softball team with six hits over two games, Maeve Thomspon had a go-ahead two-run single in game one, and Izzy Melanson pitched seven innings of scoreless softball in game two, as the Saints swept their conference opponent Union on Friday.

They downed Union 9-5 in the first game of the twin bill, before blanking the Garnet Chargers 8-0 in game two.

With the two victories, the Saints are riding a five-game winning streak with a 16-10 overall record and a 4-4 mark in conference play, putting them in a tie for fourth place with RPI. Union drops to 5-15 with a 2-6 record in the Liberty League. 

"Today was crucial in moving us in the right direction and towards postseason," said Saints head coach Rosie Phillips. "I'm very proud of the come-from-behind win we earned in game one. That came together thanks to smart baserunning, timely hits and taking advantage of our opponents' mistakes."

"Our second game was lights out in all areas. It's always difficult to highlight one or two key players, but I believe all watching would agree that Vivian Johnson had an absolutely electric day defensively that saved runs, ended innings, and ignited our dugout."

That come-from-behind win came after Union went up 3-1 on the Saints, forcing the Scarlet and Brown to dig deep and overtake the pesky Garnet Chargers in the game's final inning.
 

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After two innings of scoreless softball, the Saints started the action in the top of the third. Johnson had a one-out double to right, then after a groundout moved her over to third, Kloft delivered with a two-out single and the Saints gave starter Marleigh Monroe a lead to work with. 

Union responded quickly in the bottom of the inning with five straight singles and two runs before the Saints could record an out. An RBI groundout then gave the Garnet Chargers a 3-1 lead. Monroe was able to retire the next two batters however with two fly ball outs, stranding a pair of runners in scoring position to conclude the inning. 

Kloft came up again in a big spot in the fifth with two on after Johnson walked and Caelen Jahnle singled. The sophomore third baseman delivered again and drilled a hard ground ball into left field, scoring Johnson for the second run of the game for the Saints and cutting the Garnet Chargers lead in half. 

Wasting no more time in the top of the sixth, the Saints tied the game 3-3 with a single from Maeve Thompson and a double by Marina Juan. Emily Wendt then had an RBI groundout to score Juan and the Scarlet and Brown took their first lead 4-3. 

The see-saw matchup continued in the bottom of the frame with the Garnet Chargers tagging Monroe once again, this time with a double followed by two singles. The Saints turned to Sofia Berryhill who limited the damage to one run and the sixth inning ended with the teams tied at 4. 

In the top of the seventh the Saints broke the bats out, sending eight batters to the plate and beginning the inning with six straight singles with both Thompson and Juan driving in two and VanGee sending one runner home. The offensive flurry resulted in the Saints getting a comfortable 9-4 with only three more outs to get. 

The Garnet Chargers were able to get a run on Berryhill in the bottom of the seventh, but the senior shut a door after a 1-3 groundout, earning her seventh win of the season as the Saints took game one. 
 

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Game 2: St. Lawrence 8, Union 0

The Saints did a lot of damage in the first inning of this one as the first four batters reached with singles from Johnson, Jahnle, and Kloft followed by a double from Thompson. This plated three runs and St. Lawrence added the fourth run of the inning with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Wendt. 

In the third inning, the Saints got another runner to cross the plate after Camillieri singled, Johnson doubled, and Jahnle drove in a run off a ground ball to first. 

Melanson got the nod on the mound in this one and was stellar right from the start. Through the first half of the game, the Garnet Chargers only threatened in the third with getting runners on second and third with one away, but a double-play groundout ended any hopes of scoring from Union. 

The Saints continued to add runs with Leah VerSchneider's run-scoring single in the sixth and Kloft driving in two with a single of her own in the seventh, giving the Saints a commanding 8-0 lead. 

Melanson continued to shine through the later stages of the game, earning the complete game victory after three ground ball outs in the seventh confirmed the sweep for the Saints. 
 

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Up Next:

The Saints will head west to the home of Ithaca College where they will take on the Bombers in a twin bill tomorrow, April 19. The games are set for 1 and 3 p.m.