For the second day in a row, a freshman was the story for the Tommie softball team (41-4) as the team crushed Ripon College (25-9) 19-3 Friday in the double-elimination NCAA Division III regional in Eau Claire, Wis.

Freshman Genny Duffy hit just one home run during the regular season but drilled a pair of three-run blasts en route to a 2-3, six RBI performance Friday.

“It just shows that it was a team effort, and everyone can contribute and everyone does contribute,” senior Sydney Marquardt said. “[Duffy’s performance] was pretty incredible. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen somebody hit the ball that hard.”

St. Thomas came out swinging from the start, scoring seven runs in the first inning. Marquardt, an All-American, knocked in the game’s first RBI and went 3-3 from the plate on the day.

“I was really relaxed yesterday, and I just kind of focused on the ball instead of focusing on anything else,” Marquardt said. “They had a pretty good pitcher, but we all hit pretty well off her.”

Leading 7-2 going into the second inning, Marquardt sparked a five-run effort with a lead-off home run. The Tommies tallied 12 hits and took advantage of 11 walks.

Typically reliable senior Cassie Smith lasted just 1.2 innings for the Tommies, giving up three runs on two hits. Her replacement, Christy Gries (7-1), kept Ripon scoreless, allowing just three hits in three innings.

“They’re a good hitting team,” Marquardt said. “Christy came in and pitched really well. It wasn’t a problem. We weren’t worried about it.”

The 18th-ranked Tommies face No. 4 Luther (39-4) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Eau Claire in the winners’ bracket.

Ryan Shaver can be reached at shav7005@stthomas.edu.