GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. — With gusting winds blowing in from left field throughout the day, Eastern University Softball took advantage of opportunities and put together 13 solid innings in the circle to earn a doubleheader sweep at Gwynedd Mercy University. Three pitchers threw two innings each in an 11-2 win in the opener, and Jania Long threw her first seven-inning shutout of the year for a 4-0 win in the nightcap.

In game two, Long scattered seven hits and used a pair of timely double-plays to keep the Griffins off the board. Up 2-0 in the fifth, she helped her own cause with an RBI Double in the fifth. She came home on a triple from Dakota Owen. Long's shot to left might have gone out on a normal day, but the wind knocked it down, and the Eagles settled for a single run as Madisyn Saposnek scored from first. Owen's triple to right cleared the right-fielder's head and rolled to the fence.

The Eagles took the lead on a bases-loaded walk from Sophia Vento in the fourth. Long started the rally with a solid single up the middle. She moved to second when Owen took a pitch off her ankle. Maura Yoos singled to short to load the bases. Vento went down in the count, but the sophomore outfielder fouled off several tough pitches to earn the walk. The Eagles picked up a second run on an errant throw to first after an Ainsley O'Donnell line-out.

Long threw 85 pitches in the win. The Eagles turned double-plays in the fifth and in the seventh.

Eastern had two big innings in the opener. They scored four in the first and six in the sixth. Emily Kurth started the scoring with an RBI double with two on base. Tori Hook picked up two more RBIs with a single to left. Danika Barthol drove in Hook. Kurth drove in a. Single run with a bases-loaded hit with one out in the second, but the Eagles could not add on to their lead.

Eastern's inability to add on looked like it might come back to hurt when the Griffins (7-20) scored twice against Bryn Clifford in the third. On a pitch just off the plate, Clifford hit the first batter she faced. A single up the middle put two on with no one out. Gwynedd Mercy's only runs of the day came with on a solidly struck double to center on a 3-2 count. Clifford avoided further damage with a pair of ground ball outs.

Clifford worked around a one-out triple in the fourth before giving way to Annalise McCubbin. The first-year reliever struck out a pair and allowed only one hit in two innings to earn the save.

The Eagles used a pair of one-out walks to spark a big inning in the sixth. With Yoos and O'Donnell on, Alyssa Biczak doubled down the right field line to drive in a run. Mackenzie Laub drove in two with a single to right. After Kurth reached on an error, Maeve Colligan and Sydney Ostolaza each doubled to stretch the Eastern lead to nine runs.

McCubbin closed the door with a scoreless sixth. She worked around a hit and an error with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.

The Eagles (23-5) will return to league action to take on Messiah this Thursday. Eastern and Messiah are each unbeaten in the league, and the doubleheader will likely have great significance in post-season seeding.