The St. Thomas softball team used 24 hits to propel itself to an 8-0, 10-3 sweep over the Gustavus Gusties Thursday, April 21.

“We wanted to come out hitting,” coach John Tschida said. “I think that’s our plan all the time is coming out swinging the bats right away.”

In game one, the Tommies used three first-inning runs to lead to the 8-0 win in five innings. Junior Kayla Boward led the way for the Tommies, hitting 3-3 with two runs batted in. Senior Sydney Marquardt also chipped in, hitting 2-3 and scoring two runs.

“I felt like I was seeing the ball better today,” Boward said. She added they had “a lot of hits in the beginning like pregame and stuff.”

Senior Biz Sitzmann pitched a game shutout and only gave up two hits.

Game two was more of the same for the Tommies as they scored two first-inning runs. The game got close in the second inning when the Gusties rallied to trim St. Thomas’ lead to 3-2, but the Tommies used a three-run third inning to pull away for good and win 10-3 in six innings.

The Tommies were again led by Boward in the second game, who went 2-3 with three runs batted in and two runs scored, and Marquardt, who went 2-4 with two runs scored. Freshman Emily Gregory provided the power as she went 3-3 with two home runs and three runs batted in.

The Tommies received another strong pitching performance from senior Cassie Smith, who pitched the complete game, giving up one earned run on four hits and striking out four.

“Our pitching has really come around, two pretty good pitching outings by both pitchers,” Tschida said. “Cassie threw really well considering the zone got pretty small, and it was really tough.”

St. Thomas (30-4) increased its MIAC win streak to 33 and its overall win streak to 20 with the wins.

The Tommies will play at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at St. Olaf.

Brian Woitte can be reached at bmwoitte@stthomas.edu.