The UW-Eau Claire women’s softball team steamrolled into conference play last weekend on a nine game winning streak.

The Blugolds opened Saturday by taking both games of a doubleheader against UW-La Crosse. Solid defense and strong hitting contributed to both victories, junior Rachel Paulus said.

Game one started with a bang when sophomore Casey Leisgang cranked a solo home run in the first at-bat of the game to put the Blugolds ahead 1-0.

Neither team was able to muster up any runs until the top of the sixth inning when Paulus led off with a walk. After advancing to second on a sacrifice hit by junior Mallory McKinney, Paulus scored when sophomore Jill Janke singled to right field.

Janke crossed home plate on a single by freshman Megan Ellenbecker which sealed the victory for the ‘Golds.

McKinney pitched a complete game two-hitter with nine strikeouts to notch the win. Janke went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

“We really came out and had a good start to the weekend in the first game,” Paulus said.

The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader started the same as the first when Leisgang led off with a solo home run to give the Blugolds the early lead. Ellenbecker added two more runs in the first inning when she singled with runners at first and third.

After extending the lead from three to five runs in the second inning, the ‘Golds doubled their advantage in the fifth inning and went on to win 12-4.

Freshman pitcher Bri Strum was credited with the win in five innings with six strikeouts.

“We stuck together as a team and really came on with our hitting,” Paulus said. “We needed to keep that focus going into the game against UW-Platteville on Sunday.”

The team continued their winning streak by sweeping the Pioneers by scores of 10-0 and 15-6.

McKinney was unhittable in game one, allowing only one hit and tallying four strikeouts. She also contributed a 2-for-3 performance at the plate with two RBIs, including two of the team’s seven total home runs for the game.

“Our hitting was definitely a strong point,” Paulus said. “If we keep it up we can win a lot more games.”

Haack and Janke both went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and five more players added two or more hits to extend the winning streak to 13 straight games.

“As long as we keep getting a little better each game, we’ll stay on track,” Paulus said. “We just need to go out, worry about ourselves and play Blugold ball.”