SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University softball team extended its strong run of play on Monday, earning a pair of wins over Goshen College, taking game one 3-0 before walking off with a 5-4 victory in nine innings in the nightcap.
 
With the sweep, the Cougars have won seven of their last eight games and improved to 18-10 overall and 9-5 in Crossroads League play.
 
In the opener, Emilee Underwood delivered another dominant outing in the circle, tossing her second complete-game shutout of the season. The junior right-hander allowed just three hits over seven innings while striking out 11 batters.
 
Spring Arbor provided all the offense it would need in the third inning. Summer Ambler opened the scoring with an RBI single and Brooke Meeker followed with a double to drive in two more runs.
 
Eight different Cougars recorded hits in the game as Underwood earned her ninth win of the season and surpassed 100 strikeouts on the year. She now leads the Crossroads League in ERA (1.68), strikeouts (102) and wins (9).
 
Game two featured a back-and-forth battle that extended into extra innings. Grace Luby put SAU on the board early with an RBI double in the first inning, and later added a two-run hit in the third to help the Cougars regain the lead.
 
Goshen answered multiple times, tying the game in the sixth and again in the seventh to force extra innings. In the ninth, Spring Arbor put runners in scoring position with one out before a pop up in foul territory was caught by a Goshen defender whose momentum carried her out of play, allowing the winning run to score.
 
Luby led the offense with a 4-for-5 performance and three RBIs while Nicole Barbeau, Ambler and Anna Kemp each recorded two hits.
 
Ava Poulson started in the circle, allowing three runs over 5.2 innings with five strikeouts, while Tammy Craven earned the win with 3.1 innings of strong relief.
 
Spring Arbor returns to action on Tuesday, March 31, traveling to face Mount Vernon Nazarene University.