POTSDAM, NY - Behind strong pitching performances from Makayla Koehler and Dana Dolinko, the Union College softball team blanked Clarkson University en route to a doubleheader sweep this afternoon. 

GAME ONE
Koehler struck out six batters in seven innings of work to earn the second win of her career, in as many games, today. In addition to her stellar pitching performance, Koehler also went 2-3 at the plate.

Union's scoring chance came early in game one. With one out in the top of the first, Dolinko earned a walk. From there, senior Courtney Casey singled to left to set up Dolinko, in scoring position. First year Kendall Rogoff grounded out to first to further advance both Dolinko and Casey to second and third, and a Clarkson error allowed both runners to score. Union's early surge proved to be enough to hold off the Golden Knights and allow the Dutchwomen to take game one of the series, 2-0.

Carli Voellm went 2-3 at the plate, and senior co-caption Nikki Ditizio had three hits. 

GAME TWO
Union's bats stayed hot for game two as the team collected 13 hits, backing up a strong performance from Dolinko in the circle. Allowing just four hits in seven complete innings, Dolinko earned her second win of the season. 

Once again, the Dutchwomen got off to a quick start. First year Stuart Buxton singled through the left side to lead off the game, and fellow classmate Rogoff followed up with a two-out two-run homer to give Union the early lead. 

The Dutch struck again in the third and fourth innings of the game, earning a few insurance runs for the road. Casey doubled to right center to start off the third and eventually advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Rogoff later hit a ground ball to the right side, drawing Clarkson's defender to go for the force out and allowing Casey to cross the plate easily. In the fourth, Voellm, too, led off the inning with a double, and Union soon found themselves with runners in scoring position, with two outs to spare. A ground ball to the short stop gave Gigi Kieltyka, Voellm's pinch runner, time to score and a Casey single up the middle also allowed Buxton to score. 

With a 5-0 lead after 3.5 innings, the Dutchwomen had done enough to cruise to another shutout victory. 

The Dutchwomen advance to 3-1 in conference play after today's games and will return to action against Middlebury College next Wednesday. Originally, Union was supposed to take on St. Lawrence University tomorrow afternoon, however due to impending weather, those games have been postponed until further notice.