ROCKFORD, Ill. – Lexi Howard (Fr.-Crown Point, Ind.) drove in six runs in the first game and then started the go-ahead rally in the ninth inning of the second as the Lakeland University softball team completed a sweep of Rockford University Saturday afternoon in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader.

The Muskies downed the Regents 8-0 in five innings in the first game, and then had to work extra time in the second game before a 3-2 victory in nine innings. Lakeland opened a weekend of back-to-back road trips by stretching its winning streak to five games and is now 11-9 overall and 6-2 in the NACC.

Howard powered the Muskies' offense in the opener with a pair of bases-clearing three-run triples. The first came with two outs in the third inning and gave Lakeland a 3-0 lead, and the second came an inning later and made it 8-0, putting the Muskies in position to wrap up the game on the eight-run rule after five innings. She is the first for Lakeland to record six RBIs in a game since Hannah Hornsby drove in six against St. Norbert College April 16, 2022.

Along with five shutout innings from Natalie Ziebell (Fr.-New Holstein, Wis.), the Muskies dominated the first game. Ziebell allowed just three hits and struck out six for her first collegiate shutout, and also would play a role in the second game as well.

Rockford (13-11 overall, 2-8 NACC) tied the second game in the sixth inning with a one-out run-scoring single by Judah Ortiz, but the score stayed that way through the end of regulation and into the ninth inning. Lakeland had gone dry on offense since the third inning, but with one out in the ninth Howard hit a double to put a runner in scoring position. Jacie Jones (Jr.-Prairie du Sac, Wis.) followed with a walk, and the Muskies took the lead when Maddie Raske (So.-Tinley Park, Ill.) hit a single up the middle to score Howard and make it 2-1.

Abby Heitman (Jr.-St. Francis, Ill.) followed with a ground-rule double to score Jones for a 3-1 lead, and that insurance run came in handy in the bottom of the inning. Rockford's Makayla Howard led off with a double and scored on a single by Kieran Madigan with one out. Ziebell then came on to pitch in relief of starter Lily Pettit (Fr.-Rewey, Wis.), and Ziebell retired leadoff hitter Kariana Williams and No. 2 hitter Chayton Krueger both on infield groundouts to end the game and earn her first save of the season.

Pettit earned the win after throwing a season-long 8 1/3 innings, allowing 11 hits and two runs while striking out six. Howard added two hits in the second game in addition to two hits in the first game, and Raske also added a four-hit day including going 3-for-3 in the first game. Sydney Meyer (Jr.-Crown Point, Ind.) also drove in two runs on the day and Carlie Morrow (Jr.-Menasha, Wis.) scored three runs.

The Muskies are on the road again tomorrow, heading north this time to take on St. Norbert College for two games starting at noon in De Pere.