SUPERIOR, Wis. – UW-Superior and St. Scholastica have campuses in the Twin Ports that are separated by roughly eight miles. So it stands to reason that the schools' softball programs would play every year.

That, however, has not been the case.
 
The Yellowjackets and the Saints met for a softball doubleheader Tuesday, marking the first time in nearly four years the teams met on the diamond. You have to go back to May 13, 2021 to find the last meeting, and that was when the teams were both members of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).
 
The more things change, though, the more they stay the same, as Tuesday's games were once again hotly contested, with pitching ruling the day for both teams.
 
In the opener the Yellowjackets scored single runs in both the first and third innings on the way to a 2-0 victory. In the second game the Yellowjackets rode a five-run fifth inning to defeat the Saints 5-1 and close out the doubleheader sweep.
 
The Yellowjackets have now won three straight and four of their last five and enter the final weekend of the regular season 29-8 overall and 14-1 in UMAC play.
 
Abby Mitchell (Cloquet, Minn./Carlton) and Bella Garley (Albuquerque, N.M./Porter (Tex.)) started in the circle Tuesday, and both earned complete game victories. With the wins, Mitchell improved to 6-1 on the year, while Garley upped her record to 13-6.
 
Game One Notes

• Mitchell got the 'Jackets off to a strong start Tuesday, retiring the first 10 hitters she faced.
• The Yellowjackets opened the scoring early when Lily Hanson (Cloquet, Minn./Esko) continued her big dog of a season and doubled to left field, bringing Peyton Bennett (Harrisburg, S.D./Harrisburg) home with the game's first run.
• In the bottom of the third, Ellie Macal (Winona, Minn./Cotter) singled through the left side, scoring Hanson to give the Yellowjackets a 2-0 lead.
• For the game the Yellowjackets had nine hits, but none after the fourth inning.
• Hanson, Macal and MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) had two hits each
• Mitchell hurled the shutout, scattering six hits over seven innings and striking out nine.

Game Two Notes

• In the second game St. Scholastica starter Ashley Matejka kept the Yellowjackets off balance, allowing just two hits through four innings.
• Things finally opened up for Superior in the bottom of the fifth, as the 'Jackets scored five times, all with two outs.
• Garley helped herself out, connecting with a double to center. She would come in when Norah Schmitz (Carver County, Minn./Waconia) reached on an error.
• Bennett singled to right center field, plating Schmitz to make it 2-0. Bennett quickly moved into scoring position with a stolen base and came in when pop up to the infield got lost in the sun, going for a double.
• Zoe Thomson (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) hit an infield single to score Hanson with the fourth run before pinch runner Kendallyn Kalenberg (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) came in on a Baylee O'Donnell (Mendota Hights, Minn./Richfield) single to make it 5-0.
• St. Scholastica scored its only run of the day in the top of the sixth.
• Bennett and O'Donnell had two hits each to lead the eight-hit attack for the Yellowjackets.
• Garley earned the complete-game win, allowing one run on eight hits. She struck out four.

The Yellowjackets are back in action Friday when they host Bethany Lutheran in the first game of a three-game UMAC series. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.
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