ROCHESTER, Minn. - UW-Eau Claire never trailed Sunday, as they took a pair of games from the Red Hawks softball team. Ripon lost the first game 12-3 in six innings, before dropping the nightcap, 7-0.

In the day's first game, UW-Eau Claire (6-1) wasted no time getting on the board with one in the first and three more in the second. Ripon (0-6) got on the board in the fifth on a sacrifice fly, which scored Allison Lindsey, but the BluGolds would score three times in the bottom of that inning to take a 7-1 lead. The Red Hawks scored two more runs in the sixth on a double by Mara Millard, but it was not enough, as UW-Eau Claire won 12-3.

Micaela Encarnacion continued her hot start to the season with another multi-hit performance, going 2-for-4 at the plate. The Red Hawks finished with six hits, while UW-Eau Claire recorded nine.

The day's second game was all UW-Eau Claire, as they scored all their runs in three innings combined to earn the sweep with a 7-0 victory. Ripon finished with four hits in that contest, with Encarnacion, Lindsay, Abby Gilbertson, and Mikaela Lawrence each recording one base knock. Claire Luebke pitched three innings of scoreless ball in relief, striking out three batters.

Ripon will try to rebound Wednesday when they'll play Trinity International IIll.). That doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m. in Wisconsin Dells, Wis.