Score: Elmira College 5, Clarks Summit University 0
Score: Elmira College 8, Clarks Summit University 0 (5 inn.)
Records: Elmira (5-3), Clarks Summit (1-13)
Location: Eldridge Park -- Elmira, N.Y.

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College softball team pushed its win streak to five consecutive games on Thursday afternoon, as the Soaring Eagles blanked Clarks Summit University in both halves of a non-conference doubleheader. EC won the opener by a 5-0 final score and took the nightcap 8-0 in five innings.

Both starting pitchers were in control for Elmira against the Defenders, as Mckenzie Slaven '20 and Ally Barr '21 each twirled a scoreless complete game, and both finished with 11 strikeouts.

Game One
With Slaven dealing in the pitcher's circle, the bats of Sarah Garner '20 and Sam Chadbourne '19 helped guide the Soaring Eagles to a five-run triumph in the early contest against the Defenders. With the bases loaded in the third, Garner snuck a bases-clearing three-run double down the left field line to break a scoreless tie. In the next at-bat, Chadbourne roped a two-bagger into left center, plating Garner and increasing the lead to 4-0.

Elmira's fifth run came in the bottom of the sixth. This time, Chadbourne got enough of the ball to send it over the fence in right center, as the senior first baseman hit her second home run in as many days.

Slaven matched a career high with 11 strikeouts, which she set in her start yesterday against Morrisville State. The Horseheads, New York, native scattered five hits without issuing a walk en route to her third career complete-game shutout.

Game Two
Not to be outdone, Barr set a new single-game career-high with 11 strikeouts of her own in the late game. She began her afternoon by fanning all three batters in the top of the first, and finished with at least two punch outs in four of the five frames she tossed. The Elmira, New York, product allowed a mere three hits in her first complete-game shutout with the Purple and Gold.

EC, which outhit the Defenders 10-to-3, put up crooked numbers in the first and second innings to take an early lead. Barr helped her own cause with a two-out, two-run base hit in the bottom of the first. In the second, Maddy Johnson '19, Rachel Katzenberger '19, and Garner each produced an RBI, widening the gap to 5-0, and the Soaring Eagles never looked back.

Garner reached on a fielder's choice in the fourth and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch. The Syosset, New York, native was intentionally walked in her final plate appearance in the home half of the fifth, which loaded the bases with two away. With Elmira leading by seven, Paige Cring '21 ended the bout with an RBI single just over the head of the first baseman into shallow right.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Rhonda Faunce when asked about how well pitchers Mckenzie Slaven and Ally Barr played on Thursday...
"It was a great day for both. It sure does help win a game when you don't have to play defense. As I said yesterday, they both are settling in and doing well."

Coach Faunce on preparing for Empire 8 Conference games with the momentum of a five-game win streak...
"That was the plan, to try to build confidence going into the E8 schedule. I am hoping out hitting carries over into some of the tougher games."

New and Notes

• Elmira improved to 5-3 overall and extended its win streak to five in a row.
• In the two games combined, the Soaring Eagles scored 13 runs on 17 hits, equaling a .340 team batting average.
• On the other hand, Slaven and Barr gave up just eight hits and struck out 22 in a pair of shutouts.
• Barr set a new single-game high with 11 strikeouts, while Slaven matched her career high by fanning 11.
• Garner, Chadbourne, Johnson, and Barr each finished the two-game sweep with two hits.
• Both of Chadbourne's hits went for extra bases, as she doubled and homered in the first game.
• Garner amassed a team-high four RBIs, three of which were driven in during the early contest.
• Chadbourne hit her third career home run in the series opener, after legging out an inside-the-park grand slam in Wednesday's twin bill against Morrisville State.
• Cring's game-ending RBI in the second contest was the first of her career.

Up Next
Elmira travels to Nazareth College for an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader against the Golden Flyers. First pitch will take place at 1:00 p.m. in Rochester, New York.