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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Jordan Strum pitched her second shutout of the season in the second game as the University of New England softball team coasted past Nichols College, 7-0, for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) result at Nor'easter Diamond on Sunday afternoon (Apr. 24). The Bison snagged the opener of the doubleheader by a 5-3 margin.

With their fifth consecutive split in league play, the Nor'easters (15-19) move to 8-6 against the CCC. On the other side, Nichols has come away even from its last four twinbills, now sitting at 11-17 overall and 6-8 in the conference.

UNE entertains Bowdoin College for a couple games on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.), before wrapping the CCC regular season next weekend.

Strum threw it just six times to get through the top of the 1st inning of GAME 2 (UNE 7-0), and the Nor'easter bats fed off that efficiency by scoring four in the bottom of the stanza. Makenzy Herron singled and stole second, and then Abby Miner put one through the right side to make it 1-0. After two-out hits from Taylor Depot and Grace Tutt, Lindsay Joyal came through with a two-RBI single into right-center. An error on the play also allowed Tutt to score from first, padding the cushion to 4-0.

That spread held until the 5th, when UNE tacked on three more -- an RBI-single by Herron, and, with two away, a two-run double to the left-center gap from Depot.

Nichols got a pair of one-out hits aboard in the 7th, but Depot, Sami Groves, and Kate Wilmot turned a double-play to end the contest.

Strum fanned four without any free passes, and scattered six hits, on the way to victory number 11 on the year. Tutt extended her hitting streak to nine games, and has reached base in 14 in-a-row.

Alyssa Ouellette gave up seven hits in the setback for the Bison.

Nichols struck for two in the 1st inning of GAME 1 (NC 5-3), behind a two-run single up the middle by Kamryn Gurnee-Mims. Gurnee-Mims then touched to make it 3-0 in the 3rd, on a hit from Jayda Cesar.

The Nor'easters sent nine to the plate in the last half of the 3rd, though, and tied things up. Wilmot drove the first pitch of the at-bat into the right-center gap for a double, and Joyal followed with a single. The second out of the inning was a sacrifice fly to score Wilmot, and then Herron singled home Joyal prior to stealing second and scoring on a Miner single to left. Tutt and Megan Chamberlain kept the inning going with hits to load the bases, but a lineout to right prevented the hosts from taking the lead.

The ball never left in the infield and the Bison inched ahead, 4-3, in the 5th, and a Mackenzie Bourgault single to center on the next play set the gap at two.

Joyal's second hit moved a runner into scoring position with two gone in the 6th, and Herron reached third in the 7th, after her second single, but UNE couldn't push another run across.

Chloe Steiniger and Erin Gour had two hits apiece for Nichols. Chelsea Indyk worked 4 1/3 of relief to pick up the win in the circle.

Wilmot joined Herron and Joyal with two hits for the Nor'easters, who had an 11-9 edge on the visitors in the match. Strum struck out four over the final three frames but took the loss. Alie Martell exited after four innings with the score tied.