MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Yellowjacket softball team, after displaying a gutsy effort in a doubleheader split with Augsburg Friday, returned to the dome-covered Edor Nelson Field Saturday morning for a pair of non-conference games against Edgewood College.
 
For the Yellowjackets, the contests would be their final tune-up before embarking on their spring trip to Florida. And if Saturday is any indication, the 'Jackets appear to be a finely-tuned machine a week before heading south for warmer climes.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-5) scored a half dozen runs twice Saturday on the way to a sweep of Edgewood, winning the opening game 6-0 before taking the second match 6-2.
 
Game One
After a scoreless first inning the Yellowjackets took charge in the second, starting the inning with four hits in a row and plating three runs. Ashley Taipale (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) led off with a double and went to third when Tiffany Kirk (McHenry, Ill./McHenry East) followed with a single to left. Taipale then scored the game's first run on a single up the middle by Bailey Kinnunen (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids). Olivia Bancroft-Hart (Cambria, Wis./Cambria-Friesland) followed with a single to load the bases with nobody out. Kirk would come around to score on a fielder's choice, and Kinnunen made it 3-0 when she scored on a sacrifice fly.
 
In the bottom of the fourth inning the Yellowjackets extended the lead. Kinnunen led off the frame with a triple and scored on an infield single by Amber Yoch (North Branch, Minn./North Branch Area). Yoch advanced to second on a ground out and then scored when Kaela Kraemer (Spring Green, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) singled to center field, pushing the lead to 5-0.

The Yellowjackets closed out the scoring in the bottom of the sixth. Yoch, who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning, came in to score on an Amanda Kishish (St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis) double to make the final score 6-0.
 
Taipale was masterful in the circle for the Yellowjackets, going the distance to earn her first win of the season. She allowed just two hits to go along with four walks and nine strikeouts. She helped her own cause at the plate as well, going 2-for-3.
 
Kinnunen paced the Yellowjackets at the plate, going 3-for-3 and scoring twice. The Yellowjackets outhit Edgewood 12-2.
 
Game Two
The Yellowjackets picked up in the second game right where they left off in the first, jumping on Edgewood early, scoring twice in the first.
 
Kraemer got it started with a single to right, and Bancroft-Hart followed with a single to put two runners on. An error by the center fielder allowed Kraemer to come all the way around to score the game's first run. Bancroft-Hart scored one hitter later on a sacrifice fly to give the Yellowjackets a 2-0 lead.
 
In the third Kraemer again got things rolling, this time singling up the middle. After a walk putting two on, a wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position. Taipale singled down the left field line to bring home Kraemer, stretching the Yellowjacket lead to 3-0.
 
Edgewood finally broke through the in the bottom of the fifth, scoring twice to cut the Yellowjacket lead to one.
 
The Yellowjackets were able to hold off Edgewood, and closed out the scoring with three runs in the top of the seventh.
 
Kraemer led off with a single and then went to second on a wild pitch. Bancroft-Hart singled, putting runners on the corners. Back-to-back ground outs brought home one run and put another runner on third. Bancroft-Hart came in to score on a single by Yoch to make it 5-2. Yoch then moved up to second on a failed pickoff attempt, and took third on a passed ball. She scored the game's final run on a single to center by Kirk.
 
Kraemer had a big game at the plate, going 4-for-4 and scoring three runs. Bancroft-Hart also had a pair of hits, as the Yellowjackets outhit Edgewood 10-6.
 
Josie Steen (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior) started in the circle for the Yellowjackets and got the win to move to 1-0 on the year. She pitched four innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits. Kishish pitched the final three innings in hitless fashion, walking one and striking out two.
 
The Yellowjackets will return to action Saturday, March 14 when they play SUNY-Brockport and Allegheny in their first games in Florida.