MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Indiana Wesleyan University softball scored 18 runs on Friday in a pair of victories over host Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio).

Indiana Wesleyan won the opening game 9-6 and then took the nightcap by a 9-1 margin. The two wins move Indiana Wesleyan past the 40 win plateau for the season at 41-10 with a 24-8 Crossroads League record. Mount Vernon Nazarene is now 17-26 overall and 14-20 in league play.

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the first game with a five run second inning. IWU scored on four consecutive at bats with RBI singles by Sam Hemming (SR/Russiaville, Ind.), Allison Bexell (JR/Avon, Ind.), and Alex Springer (FR/Fort Wayne, Ind.) while Sara Kreitzer (SO/Ashland, Ohio) added an RBI groundout.

The Cougars cut the deficit to 5-3 in the third inning but the Wildcats quickly plated four runs in the top of the fourth inning for a 9-3 advantage. Hemming picked up another RBI single in the fourth inning while Kreitzer added a run scoring single. Springer earned the big hit in the frame with a 2-run home run. MVNU scored three more runs in the fifth inning to account for all the scoring in game one.

Springer finished with two hits and three RBIs and Hemming was 2-for-4 with two runs and two runs knocked in. Bexell and Kreitzer each had a hit and two RBIs.

Janessa Guevara (JR/Lathrop, Calif.) earned the win with three runs on 6.1 innings. She allowed eight hits and one walk along with two strikeouts. Carlie Weaver (FR/Brownsburg, Ind.) pitched 0.2 innings and gave up three runs on three hits.

In game two, Mount Vernon Nazarene scored first in the bottom of the first inning. But Haley Nixon (FR/Bristol, Ind.) would not allow another run the rest of the game. Indiana Wesleyan scored three times in the second inning for the 3-1 lead.

IWU built up their lead with three more runs in the fifth inning before scoring twice more in the sixth inning and once more in the seventh inning.

Nixon allowed the single run on four hits in a 7.0 inning complete game. She walked three and struck out five.

Kreitzer was 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Hemming and Kelsey Kooistra (FR/Grand Rapids, Mich.) each registered a pair of hits while Hemming and Springer each hit a double.

Indiana Wesleyan was scheduled to play at Grace (Ind.) tomorrow but the doubleheader has been moved to Monday due to the rainy forecast. That doubleheader will begin at 3 p.m. in Winona Lake, Indiana.