BELMONT, Calif. – The No. 15 NCAA Division II softball team in the nation finished off a four-game sweep of Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday with a 4-2 hard-fought win followed by a 9-0 exclamation point.
 
Concordia University Irvine received impressive performances from both starting pitchers as well as its two position players that share the same first name (with different spellings). The first-place Eagles (33-6 overall, 19-3 PacWest) improved to 10-1 in true road games this season.
 
Game One: Concordia 4, NDNU 2
 
After falling behind 1-0, the Eagles took the lead in the top of the third inning.  Senior Heather Nonora led off with a single and Megan Massa followed with a bunt single.  After Nonora stole third and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Sydney Sprinkle, catcher Mackenzie Graham roped a two-out RBI double to plate Massa and give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
 
The score was the same in the top of the seventh when Sprinkle laced a two-run double to push the lead to 4-1.  Nonora and Massa both scored unearned runs on the clutch hit to give starting pitcher Callie Nunes some extra insurance.
 
Nunes pitched a complete game and only allowed two earned runs and six hits in seven innings.  Both NDNU runs came on solo homers by Melissa Garcia and Keeli Bryant.  Bryant's solo shot came in the seventh a few minutes after Sprinkle's clutch double.
 
Nunes improved to 22-4 on the season with her latest victory.  She has thrown three no-hitters this season (five in her young career) and leads the entire PacWest
 
Eagle Eye: Sydney Sprinkle went 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI.  Mackenzie Graham was on base three times and finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a RBI.
 
"Graham has been making great contact and really keeping our offense going," said CUI head coach Crystal Rosenthal.
 
Game Two: Concordia 9, NDNU 0 (5 innings)
 
Sydni Dix set the tone right away in the second contest with a leadoff home run for the Eagles. It was a great way to take control after a close contest to start the day.
 
"Sydni Dix and Sydney Sprinkle were outstanding today," said Rosenthal.  "Sprinkle made two huge plays on defense and Dix leading off game two with a home run was awesome."
 
The offense really got cooking in the top of the third.  Graham smacked a RBI single with the bases loaded and then Amanda Gjertsen ripped a two-run double to push the CUI lead to 4-0.  Dix also contributed two hits in the inning, including a two-run double after leading off the frame with a bunt single.  By the time the Argos recorded the third out, the Eagles had put up a seven spot and taken control of the contest, 8-0.
 
While the offense was impressive, the pitching was fantastic.  Erika Morris got the nod on the circle and tossed a complete game one-hit shutout.  The true freshman allowed only one single and one walk in five innings of work.  She struck out two and improved to 7-2 with the victory.
 
"Pitching has been good and Erika was very efficient today," added Rosenthal.  "We look forward to a day off and moving forward next week."
 
The Eagles entered their series with NDNU ranked eighth in NCAA DII with a measly 1.62 team ERA.
 
CUI continues its 12-game road trip on Monday with a doubleheader in Hayward at Holy Names starting at 10 a.m.  (Please note there was a time change and location change for Monday's doubleheader). The Eagles will then play the Hawks two more times on Tuesday before traveling to play Academy of Art on Wednesday.
 
Eagle Eye: Dix finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI.  Morris tossed her second consecutive complete game shutout against the Argos, after going eight innings in Friday's extra inning affair.  The Eagles are now 16-5 when she makes an appearance on the mound.
 
For the full CUI softball schedule, click here.