Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Aurora University softball team swept the Concordia University Chicago Cougars winning both games 10-2 in five innings and in doing so captured the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Championship.

Game One
Aurora  10
Concordia Chi. 2 (5 innings)

AU scored the games first run in the top of the first inning with the aid of a Cougar error that allowed Mandey Schrader to reach and she eventually came around to score.

The Spartans exploded for seven runs in the third inning to put the game out of reach. Sarah Clauser led off with a double which would be her first of two in the inning. Her second would drive in three runs. Steph Starr followed with a single as did Logan Cahill which would score Clauser. Taylor Moore singled to score Starr and Cahill for a 4-0 AU lead. Vanessa Wegner kept the AU scoring going as she reached on an error that scored Moore for the 5-0 lead. That set up Clauser to double for the second time and an 8-0 lead.

Concordia scored one run in the bottom of the inning to end Vanessa Hartzell's shutout bid.

In the fifth inning and needing one run to put the game in the mercy rule criteria, Clauser hit a two out double and scored on a Starr double. Starr would score for a 10-1 lead when Cahill reached on an error.

Concordia got one run on a home run in the bottom of the inning but AU would win 10-2 in five innings. Hartzell earned the win while striking out 10.

Game Two
Aurora  10
Concordia Chi. 2 (5 innings)

The Spartans wasted no time grabbing a lead in game two with Clauser being a big part of the early scoring again. Schrader led off with a single and moved to third on an error when Laura Dierking reached on a fielders choice. Clauser then singled to score Schrader for the 1-0 lead. Cahill hit a two out single to score Clauser for a 2-0 lead.

In the second, Wegner singled and was run for by Natalia Szyller. Szyller would score on a Schrader single for a 3-0 Spartan lead.

As they did in game one, the Spartans used a big third inning to blow the game wide open. The big hit of the inning came off the bat of Andrea Graves. She hit a pinch hit three run home run. At the end of the third, AU led 9-0.

Concordia got single runs in the sixth and seventh inning off AU starter Natalie Zanella. Zanella would earn the win, her 12th of the season.

The 10th AU run was scored in the seventh inning when Grace Riley singled to score Graves.

With the sweep, AU is now 25-13 overall and 18-4 in the NACC. Next action for the Spartan softball team comes on Thursday, May 1 when they compete in the 2014 NACC Softball Tournament. AU is the top seed and will play at 4:00 p.m. against either Concordia Wis. or Dominican Univ. in Milwaukee, Wis. at Alverno College.