ADA, Ohio – The no. 18 nationally ranked Mount Union softball team swept Ohio Northern in a doubleheader in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon, winning game one 3-0 and winning game two 10-4.

The Purple Raiders (19-5, 9-1 OAC) would strike first in game one when senior Kendyll Cahill (Groveport / Groveport Madison) hit an RBI single that scored freshman Addy Antonetz (Zanesville / West Muskingum) to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Then, in the following inning Mount Union would add to their lead when senior Sydney Mercer (Salem / West Branch) hit a two-RBI double that brought in senior Kaitlyn Culver (Girard) and sophomore Allison Jones (Berlin Center / Western Reserve) to make the lead three runs.

The Polar Bears (8-18, 2-6 OAC) wouldn't have an answer over the course of the sixth and seventh innings as the Raiders would go on to take game one 3-0.

Cahill got the start in the circle in game one for Mount Union and threw a complete game shutout, allowing just two hits and striking out three in the win.

Ohio Northern would strike first in game two when Carlie Schroeder hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.

The Raiders would comeback to tie the game in the top half of the third when senior Faith Reicosky (North Canton / Hoover) scored after an error by the Polar Bear shortstop. Then, in the following inning Mount Union would claim their first lead of the game when senior Lydia Brunner (Minerva) hit an RBI triple that scored freshman Grace Bates (Mount Vernon). Jones would then hit an RBI double that brought in senior Emily Denney (Poland / Poland Seminary), then Jones scored on a Mercer triple and Mercer scored on a wild pitch to cap off a four-run inning and take a 5-1 lead.

The Raiders would add two more runs in the following inning when Antonetz scored following another Ohio Northern error and then Brunner would hit an RBI single that scored junior Josie Pfaff (Jamestown, Pa. / Jamestown Area) to extend the lead to six runs. The Polar Bears would get one back in the bottom half of the same inning when Schroeder hit another RBI single that trimmed the lead to 7-2.

Mount Union would push the lead out to eight in the sixth inning when Bates hit an RBI single that brought in Mercer and Pfaff hit a two-RBI triple that scored Bates and Culver to make the lead 10-2.

The Polar Bears would once again cut into the lead in the bottom half of the sixth when Natalie Gonzalez scored on a wild pitch and then Clare Flory scored following a Mount Union error. But that is as close as they would get as the Raiders would go on to take game two 10-4.

Sophomore Emma Reemsnyder (Canton / GlenOak) got the start in the circle for Mount Union in game two and would throw five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and striking out one. Junior Haleigh McCalla (Youngstown / Springfield Local) would come in to throw the final two innings in relief and gave up two runs, one earned on three hits and struck out one.

The Raiders hit the road next as they continue OAC play against Heidelberg in Tiffin on Saturday, April 18 with games at 1 and 3 p.m.