St. Louis, Mo., March 21, 2021 – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team celebrated its first true home game of the season with a doubleheader sweep of Westminster Sunday at the WU Softball Field.

The Bears (4-5) topped the Blue Jays (5-6) 6-1 in the opener followed by an 11-4 victory in Game 2.

Game 1

The Bears rebounded from an early deficit to back up a solid defensive effort led by junior pitcher Holly Stoner. Westminster scored first with a run in the second inning, but that is all the offense the Bears allowed in Game 1.

WashU took a 2-1 lead in the third inning on back-to-back RBI singles by junior Nicole Hay and sophomore Kayla Nommensen.

Hay knocked another RBI single in the fifth inning before the Bears scored three more in the sixth highlighted by sophomore Eimear Cunningham's first career home run, a two-run blast.

Hay went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead four WashU batters with multiple hits in Game 1. Also for the Bears, junior Tami Wong was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run while sophomore Payton Irwin was 2-for-3 with two runs and junior Katie Gould was 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Stoner (2-2) allowed just one run on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks in a complete game performance.

Game 2

Sophomore center fielder Tami Wong hit two home runs and drove in five to ignite the WashU offense in Game 2.

The Blue Jays again jumped out to an early advantage, leading 3-0 after one and-a-half innings of play. The Bears answered with six runs in the bottom of the second to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Junior Natasha Ramakrishnan led off the scoring by blasting a leadoff double, stealing third and scoring on a Westminster error. Cunningham followed with an RBI single to drive in Kirsten Drabek, pulling the Bears within 3-2. Wong continued the hit parade with a three-run blast to put the Bears ahead before Hay hit an RBI single to give WashU a 6-3 advantage after two innings of play.

WashU added another run in the third inning on an RBI double by first year Ashley Kennedy. The Blue Jays scored one in the fourth before WashU answered with a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Nommensen. The Bears added their final three runs in the sixth inning on back-to-back home runs by Wong, a two-run shot, and Irwin.

Wong went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs scored to highlight the day for WashU. Also for the Bears offense, Irwin was 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored while Ramakrishnan was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored and Kennedy was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Junior pitcher Madison Denton (2-2) picked up the win for WashU after allowing four runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts.

The Bears are back home for a 4 p.m. single game against Webster Wednesday afternoon at the WU Softball Field.