CLAREMORE, Okla. – The St. Edward's Softball team pounded out 10 hits on its way to a 7-2 victory to open up its series against Rogers State Friday evening at the Diamond Sports Complex.
 
St. Edward's (24-22, 14-8 HC) started slow at the plate as Rogers State (17-31, 6-16 HC) kept the Hilltopper offense at bay. In the second inning, the Hilltoppers got their first two batters on base. SAMI WILLIAMS and KAYLA APPLEBY both singled to lead off the inning. A fielder's choice and double play got the Hillcats out of the inning.
 
Finally, in the third inning, the Hilltoppers struck gold. MEGAN HOFFMAN doubled with one out. That was followed by a walk to ALEX MAYFIELD to put two runners on. After a force out, MORGAN DUFOUR launched her 12^th home run of the season for a 3-0 St. Edward's lead.
 
Hoffman produced two more runs for the Hilltoppers in the fourth inning after leadoff singles by Appleby and SAMANTHA GILMORE. Hoffman singled up the middle to plate both runners and give the visitors a commanding 5-0 lead.
 
St. Edward's added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning in a rally that was started by Appleby's leadoff double.
 
LAUREN SLATTEN (17-10) was outstanding in the circle once again. The righthander had a no-hitter going through the first five innings. She would finish with only two hits allowed, while striking out a career-high 12 batters.
 
"I liked our approach to the game today. We had runners in scoring position almost every inning, and we capitalized with timely hitting," head coach Lindsay Gardner said. "Our defense and pitching were pretty strong today as well. If we come out tomorrow with the same fire, we have a strong chance at sweeping the series."
 
The Hilltoppers are now tied with Oklahoma Christian in the loss column with eight losses. They are both battling to finish in third place to prevent having to play what amounts to a play-in game at the Heartland Conference Tournament. The Lady Eagles took two of three games from St. Edward's earlier in the year, so the Hilltoppers will have to gain another game in tomorrow's action to finish third.
 
The two teams will complete the series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. The game was moved up an hour from its original time of noon. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.