The Aurora University softball team was finally able to open the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference portion of their schedule on Monday afternoon much closer to home than originally scheduled. The Spartans hosted Rockford University but were the visiting team at New Haven Park in Aurora, Illinois. AU went on to sweep Rockford, winning 10-0 and 11-0.

AU starting pitchers Vanessa Hartzell and Natalie Zanella each threw one-hit shutouts while the offense supplied them with plenty of runs.

The Spartan offense pounded out 33 hits in the doubleheader, 15 in game one and 18 in game two with four doubles and seven triples in the games. Sophomore Mandey Shrader went four for five with two runs scored and one run batted in and game two AU was led by Larkin Langston and Taylor Moore who each went three for three with two runs batted in.

With the sweep, AU is now 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the NACC. Next action for the Spartan softball team comes on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 when they travel to Edgewood College for a NACC doubleheader. Game one is set for 2:00 p.m. in Madison, Wisconsin.