CALDWELL, N.J.- The Caldwell University softball team extended their winning streak to five as they swept a twin bill against American International College in their home opener. The Cougars won the opener 8-0 in five innings and took the nightcap 8-4.
 
The Cougars improve to 8-3 overall, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 2-6.
 
In the opener, Caldwell got on the board in the first inning as junior Courtney Grundhauser (Easton, Pa.) hit a sacrifice fly. Senior Lauren Stansell (Plantation, Fla.) added a three-run inside the park homerun in the second for a 4-0 lead.
 
The Cougars added four runs in the third inning as senior Emma Cooney (Livingston, N.J.) and freshman Jessica Klein (Trevose, Pa.) drove in run with singles. Cooney scored later in the inning on a wild pitch, while freshman Ashleigh Tavaska (Jackson, N.J.) added a run scoring ground out.
 
Senior Mariah Culver (Owego, N.Y.) improved to 3-0 as she tossed four shutout innings, allowing one hit and struck out six. Freshman Allison Winters (Blairstown, N.J.) pitched the final inning, allowing two hits.
 
In the nightcap, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead as Winters cleared the bases with a three-run double. Caldwell added to their lead in the second as freshman Kaylin Brozaitis (Rancho Murieta, Calif.) and senior Maya Rodriguez (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) drove in runs with singles to extend their lead to 5-0.
 
American International rallied back with run two runs in the fourth and two in the sixth to close the gap to 5-4.
 
Caldwell added insurance runs in the sixth as Cooney drove in one run with a groundout, while junior Taylor Mischler (Endicott, N.Y.) added a two-run triple.
 
Senior Kayla Daly (Babylon, N.Y.) tossed five innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts to improve to 5-1. Winters and Culver each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.  
 
The Cougars travel to Dominican College for a CACC doubleheader on Wednesday, March 23 at 2:30 pm.