EAU CLAIRE - The eighth-ranked UW-Eau Claire softball team extended its team record winning streak to 15 games tonight as it swept a doubleheader from I-94 rival UW-Stout at Gelein Field in Carson Park.

In game one, Blugold pitcher Mallory McKinney (Jr.-Brooklyn Park, MN/Champlin Park) tied a Blugold record for most shutouts in a season with nine in a 2-0 victory. She ties Kari DeGross (1988) and Heidi Bergstrom (2000). In game two, the Blugolds needed extra innings as they rallied to win 7-6 in eight innings.

The Blugolds now have an overall record of 21-3 and a conference record of 6-0, which puts them in a tie for first place with UW-Oshkosh. The two losses drop the Blue Devils to an overall record of 5-17 and a conference record of 0-6.

In the game one pitchers dual, the Blugolds got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning after Steph Salter (Jr.-Schofield, WI/D.C. Everest) scored from third on a error by the Blue Devil catcher. The Blugolds would get insurance in the bottom of the fifth when Jill Janke (So.-Black River Falls, WI) singled to left field to score Rachel Paulus (Jr.-Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Lincoln) to make the score 2-0. Paulus finished the game 2-for-4.

That's all the scoring that pitcher Mallory McKinney (12-1) would need as she went the distance and pitched her eighth consecutive shutout and school record tying ninth of the season. McKinney allowed only three hits and struck out five as she now thrown 60.2 consecutive scoreless innings. She has not allowed an earned run in 65.2 consecutive innings.

The Blue Devils would leave two runners on in the top of the seventh inning as McKinney struck out the final batter of the game to preserve the victory. Amber Haack (Jr.-Madison, WI/LaFollette) was 2-for-3 in the victory.

In game two, the Blugolds got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning when pitcher Bri Sturm (Zumbrota, MN/Zumbrota-Mazeppa) singled to right scoring Shannon Barone (Jr.-De Pere, WI). The Blugolds would then go up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning on an Amber Haack single that scored Steph Salter.

Stout would bounce back with a huge top of the fourth. The Blue Devils would score six runs on seven hits, including a three-run homerun by Megan Donley to go up 6-2.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Blugolds would answer with four runs on five hits to tie the game up at 6-6. RBI singles by Mallory McKinney and Casey Leisgang (So.-Seymour, WI) got the Blugolds within 6-4. Then following a ground out that scored McKinney, Jill Janke tied the game up on a RBI single that scored Leisgang.

The game would remain scoreless and go into extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth inning, McKinney and Terisa Syvertsen (Sr.-Woodbury, MN) would single and Leisgang would walk to load the bases. Janke would then walk with the bases loaded to score the winning run as the Blugolds went onto win 7-6.

The Blugolds will travel to face UW-River Falls on Friday afternoon for a doubleheader. The first game begins at 1 p.m.

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

- JR -