Playing for the first time in 13 days, the Eagles took on Notre Dame de Namur on Friday afternoon and came away with a pair of wins. 

Callie Nunes and Erika Morris were dominant in the circle.  The pair of right handers combined for 13 shutout innings.  Each pitcher went the distance, with game one ending in five innings, while game two went to extras.

CUI's offensive explosion in game one was countered by a battle of the pitchers in game two, with Morris outlasting NDNU starter Sofia Garcia and earning the win.

Game One:
After nearly two weeks off, Nunes showed why she's one of the best pitchers in America.  She shutdown the Argonauts lineup, giving up only one hit on the day, while striking out seven and not walking a single batter.

"Callie was very efficient and sharp today," said head coach Crystal Rosenthal. 

The Eagles' offense was sharp, as well.  They collected 13 hits on the day, including four doubles, two of which came off the bat of freshman Megan Massa.  Joining Massa in the hit parade were teammates Sydney Sprinkle, Sydni Dix, Michelle Lieng, and Sarah Kretschmar.  The four starters combined for nine hits in 14 at bats, four runs scored, and eight RBIs. 

The Eagles grabbed an early lead, scoring one in the first, and never looked back.  A big second inning put the game away for good.  The Eagles collected six runs on four hits and led 7-0 after two.  They added two more in the fourth, one in the fifth, and won the game in five via run rule. 

The win was the 30^th of the season for the Eagles and the 21^st for Callie Nunes.

Game Two:
The second game of the day seemed for much of the way like a mano-a-mano pitching duel, but for the Eagles, help came from the offense, and it came late.
Erika Morris was the Eagles' star of game two.  Through seven innings, Morris shut down the NDNU offense, giving up no runs, but the Eagles needed more.  The game was tied at the end of seven, as NDNU pitcher Sofia Garcia matched Morris pitch for pitch.  Morris gave up just four hits on the day, but the game remained scoreless heading into extras.

In the top of the eighth inning, ever-reliable third baseman Amanda Gjertsen began with a leadoff single, and the offense was just getting started.  After Myka Hughes pinch ran for Gjertsen, she was moved up to second on a single by Sydney Sprinkle.  Heather Nonora came in to pinch run for Sprinkle, and with speed on the bases, the Eagles used a small ball attack to finally break through.  Alyssa Turner sacrificed both runners up, and all runners advanced an extra base on an error by the Argonauts first baseman.  Hughes came around to score, giving the Eagles a one run lead.  Now with a lead to work with, multi-talented Erika Morris, just as dangerous with a bat in her hands as she is pitching in the circle, gave herself some insurance runs.  With two on and one out, Morris hit her second career home run to put the Eagles up, 4-0.  She then closed out her gem in the bottom of the eighth to earn her sixth win of the season.

"Erika was competitive today," said coach Rosenthal.  "She kept us in the game until we could get some runs."

Despite the long break in the middle of the season, the Eagles are making no excuses.

"It's tough to have big gaps with no games," said coach Rosenthal, "but we are up here to get a job done and we will work hard and play our best."

The Eagles take on the Argonauts again on Saturday in another doubleheader.  Game one is scheduled for 11:00 AM in Belmont.

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