ROSEMONT, Pa. – In the team's first action since spring break, Eastern University Softball swept an away doubleheader against the Rosemont College Ravens. Jania Long and Bryn Clifford combined for a perfect game in a 7-0 shutout win in the opener, and four Eastern pitchers threw in an 11-1 run-shortened win in the nightcap.

With the plan for the day to get innings for most of the staff,  Long pitched through her three innings of work without seeing a Rosemont player square up a ball. She attacked the strike zone early and got good work from her fielders. She struck out two and left the game with a 7-0 lead.

Clifford, who had a great week in Florida last week continued her good run in the circle. With the 7-0 lead, it seemed likely that she would only need to go two innings. She threw three ground ball outs in the fourth and retired three straight in the fifth on a pair of fly balls and a weak grounder to first.

As the Eagles did not score in the top of the sixth, Clifford knew that there were six more outs to get when she  faced the bottom of the Rosemont order in the sixth. A routine ground ball, a foul pop-up that Maeve Colligan handled well from her catcher spot and a strikeout brought the perfect game into reach.

Sophia Vento came in well on a lazy fly ball to short center for the first out of the seventh. Clifford had to battle to get swinging strikeout for the second out the inning. Maura Yoos handled a routine ground ball to short to end the game.

The perfect game is the first for Eastern softball since Kristine Rosko blanked Rosemont over five innings in a 16-0 win in 2008. Long threw a no-hitter in a 3-1 win at Widener in 2023. Danika Barthol threw a no-hitter against York in last year's MAC Commonwealth Championship game.

Alyssa Binczak walked and scored on an Emily Kurth double to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the first.

The Eagles took advantage of some free bases and extra outs to boost their lead in the third. Binczak reached on an error and came around to score on a triple from Yoos. She scored on a sacrifice fly from Mackenzie Laub.

The Eagles built a rally in the fourth inning with Long and Sydney Ostolaza reaching on miscues and Sophie Rollins dropping a picture-perfect bunt to load the bases. Binczak drove in one run with a single and Laub recorded a second sacrifice fly before Kurth drove in two more with her second double of the game. With four more hits today, the rookie catcher upped her average to .447. She leads the Eagles with 15 RBIs.

With double in the first inning, Kurth drove in the first run in the nightcap. In doing so, she stretched her hitting streak to 11 games and now has driven in runs in eight straight. The Eagles pounded out 15 hits in the five inning win.

Barthol struck out two of the three hitters she faced and then hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the inning to put her side up 2-0. Rollins tripled and scored on a Vento single for a 3-0 lead.

Regina Bangcoro came on to pitch in the second inning. She struck out three of the seven hitters she faced in two innings of work.

The Eastern lead grew to 7-0 with a four-run third. The first four hitters of the inning singled. Long picked up an RBI with the fourth hit, and Bangcoro plated Kurth with a sacrifice fly to center. Kenzie McClure delivered the final two runs of the inning with a two-out single.

After being unable to build the eight-run differential in the first game, the Eagles scored three more in the fourth. Colligan, Bangcoro, and Valentina Marino each doubled in the inning.

Annaleise McCubbin struck out two, after allowing a run on a ground ball out in the fourth. Yoos tripled and scored on a Dakota Owen fly ball in the fifth. The rookie infielder has scored 12 runs in her first 12 games and is reaching base 45 percent of the time.

Hailey Krichten retired all three hitters she faced in the bottom of the fifth to complete the win.