By Staff
The Niles softball team earned its third and fourth consecutive victories Tuesday with a doubleheader sweep against Benton Harbor in Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference West Division action.
The Vikings, now 5-9 on the year, beat the Tigers 11-1 and 16-6 with each game lasting just five innings.
Kari Eckstein improved to 2-5 with the victory in the first game. She struck out seven batters and walked just one. Crystal Crouch boosted her record to 3-4 with the decision in the second game. She also struck out seven.
Kayla Gross and Jessica Cornelius each had two singles in the first game while Nikki Lintz hit a double.
Gross again led the Vikings in the second game with four hits including two doubles and four RBIs. Lintz hit three singles while Tasha Lary hit a triple and a single. Jessica Johnson added two singles and four RBIs.
Niles returns to action Thursday at Mattawan.
Niles………………11
Benton Harbor….1
B. Harbor 000 01--1 4 4
Niles 504 2x--11 10 1
Kari Eckstein (W, 2-5); Risque Phillips (L).
2B: Nikki Lintz (N)
Niles………………16
Benton Harbor….6
B. Harbor 050 01--6 7 4
Niles 235 51--16 16 3
Crystal Crouch (W, 3-4); Meri Napier (L).
3B: Tasha Lary (N), Cassie Norman (B)
2B: Kayla Gross (N) 2
Team records: Niles 5-9