ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern softball team picked up a conference-opening sweep of Northland College (1-16) Thursday at Reynolds Field. With the 4-2 and 6-1 victories, the Eagles improve to 13-9 and extend their winning streak to six.

Game One
Both teams pushed a run across in the first, but it was the Eagles striking with a pair in the fifth and one more in the sixth to pick up the 4-2 victory.

Leadoff hitter Mindy Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) led the charge at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Kayla Hannasch (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North ), Moriah Maunu (Glencoe, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake) and Faith Forcier (Watkins, Minn./Eden Vallley-Watkins) all finished with two hits apiece.

Abbie Nelson (Holdrege, Neb./Holdrege) (6-4) went the distance in the circle to earn the win. She allowed just one earned run on five hits, while striking out four.

Game Two
Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Kayla Madison (North Branch, Minn./Forest Lake ) blasted a two-run laser over the left-field fence to extend UNW's lead to 4-1. The Eagles tacked on two more in the sixth and Lexi Kopacek (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) was again very effective in the circle as Northwestern picked up the sweep. She allowed just one earned run on five hits to improve to 7-4 on the year.

Madison finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish and fellow freshman Courtney Schmidt (Spring Valley, Minn/Kingsland) delivered a pair of hits. Megan Aasness (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Academy ) drove in two runs.

UNW will continue its homestand next Tuesday when UW-River Falls visits Reynolds Field for a pair. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. Fans can find more information at unweagles.com or by following @unweagles on Twitter.