Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 It is hard to win the last of anything, so the John Carroll softball team should take immense pride in the way it finished its eight contests in five days at the Sunkissed Games in Kissimmee, Florida.

Pitching and defense were solid and hitting was timely as the Blue Streaks defeated Alfred (4-3) and St. Joseph's (5-1) on Friday at Osceola Field #1. JCU wrapped up its trip with a 5-3 record and five wins in its last six games.

The Alfred affair was one where JCU never trailed but needed late inning magic to win. Jessica Cook was the starter, and she kept the Saxons off the board for five innings. In the meantime, Lauren Ogurek had the lone run producing hit, a bases-loaded double that scored all three base runners in the third inning. That 3-0 lead held up until the bottom of the sixth inning.

The comeback from Alfred seemed to materialize from thin air, as four consecutive Saxons reached base after the first two batters were retired, and three of those base runners scored. Suddenly, the score was knotted at 3-3 entering the seventh inning.

As often has been the case this week, a John Carroll rally starts quietly. This time, a Miranda Noday walk with one out. Olivia Schweiger then put pressure on the defense and the result was an error. With two on and two out, matters went from quiet to loud as Hannah Mizener ripped a single to right to score Noday for a 4-3 John Carroll lead.

Cook started the seventh, but needed help to finish. With one out and two aboard, head coach Nicole Loudin turned to freshman Madison Eagle to get the final two outs. She was exceptional in relief against Bridgewater Thursday to earn her first win, and she would need to be exceptional again to earn her first save. She induced an infield fly rule out and then got a pop up to shallow right to end the game.

Hidden in the box score were some defensive gems, such as a Mizener diving catch to end the fourth inning, and a Jennie Broski diving stop on a ball going up the middle that neutralized a threat in the fifth.

In the nightcap, St. Joseph struck first but the Blue Streaks struck more often. Down 1-0, the Blue Streaks put up three runs in the second and two more in the third. Lindsay McKnight, Mizener and Caitlin Fitzsimmons all had multiple hits, and Quinn Sobieszczanski hit her second career home run -- a two run bomb over the left field fence in the second inning -- to propel the offense. Noday, Fitzsimmons and McKnight all had great defensive plays in support of Jenn Patterson, who worked six innings and allowed one run on six hits, striking out four in picking up her second win of the year.

McKnight and Mizener both finished the trip batting .440, while Sobieszczanski (.381), Noday (.379) and Schweiger (.333) all batted well above .300 as well. Mizener had a home run and team-best 10 RBI. As a team, John Carroll batted .329 and had a team ERA of 2.98. Both Cook and Patterson had a pair of wins as starting pitchers.

The Blue Streaks are now 5-6 on the year.