WINONA, Minn. – The St. Olaf College softball team remained unbeaten in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play by improving to 8-0 after sweeping Saint Mary's University (Minn.) on the road on Thursday afternoon.

St. Olaf (10-2, 8-0 MIAC) blanked Saint Mary's (5-15, 2-6 MIAC) in the opener, 6-0, as reigning Division III Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week Julie Graf came within two outs of the sixth no-hitter of her career. After driving in four runs in the opener, Hannah Matthies was 4-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI in the Oles' 12-4 six-inning win in the nightcap.

Prior to this season, the last time St. Olaf was 8-0 to begin MIAC play was 1992 when the Oles finished 18-2 in conference games. Five of the Oles' eight wins against MIAC foes this season have been run-rule victories.

St. Olaf 6, Saint Mary's 0 | Box Score

Graf allowed just one walk and one hit battter over the first 6.1 innings before Cassie Sutor drove a one-out single into right field to break up the senior's no-hit bid. Graf, who retired 14 batters in a row at one point, settled for a one-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts and was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI at the plate.

Matthies had a pair of two-run hits to lead the way offensively for St. Olaf, which also got two hits, two stolen bases, a run, and an RBI from Tarah DeCroock.

In a scoreless game, Matthies broke the deadlock with a two-out, two-run double to right center in the top of the third to score DeCroock and Ally Bode.

The score remained 2-0 until the sixth when Katie Weisheit led off with a double, stole third, and scored on a one-out single by Graf. DeCroock added a two-out RBI single later in the inning to make it a 4-0 game.

St. Olaf's first three batters of the seventh inning reached to push across two more runs. Kaleigh Santmyer drew a walk to start the inning and Bode followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position for Matthies, who brought them both in with a single.

After hitting a batter with two outs in the first, Graf did not allow a baserunner until a one-out walk in the sixth. The Cardinals put two runners on in the bottom of the seventh on Sutor's one-out single and a two-out walk before Graf got her 16th strikeout of the game to finish off the 18th shutout of her career.

St. Olaf 12, Saint Mary's 4 (6 inn.) | Box Score

The trio of DeCroock, Matthies, and Anne Fossum combined to go 9-for-13 with five runs and nine RBI as the Oles scored multiple runs in each of their final four innings at the plate in the night cap. Jenna Peschel turned in her second-straight complete-game win in the circle.

Matthies extended her hitting streak to 11 games with the first four-hit game by an Ole since Graf and Emily Carr each accomplished the feat in a 13-1 win over Martin Luther on Feb. 26, 2017. The senior has had multiple hits in eight of St. Olaf's 12 games this season and is 11-for-15 with 15 RBI in the last two doubleheaders.

DeCroock was 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and a career-high-tying three RBI, while Fossum was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and four RBI. In the circle, Peschel allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts to earn her second win in as many starts.

Saint Mary's struck first with a pair of runs in the home half of the second, but St. Olaf responded with four runs in the next half inning, highlighted by a two-out, three-run double to the gap in left center by Fossum.

After the Cardinals got one run back in the bottom of the third, Bode singled in DeCroock with one out in the fourth and, after Bode was caught stealing, Matthies hit her team-leading fourth home run of the season to give the Oles a 6-3 advantage.

With St. Olaf's lead at 6-4, the Oles added two more runs in the fifth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hannah Peschel and a two-out RBI double by DeCroock. DeCroock, who owns an eight-game hitting streak, finished her five-hit day with a two-out, two-run single in St. Olaf's four-run sixth that made it an eight-run game.

The Oles visit No. 16 Saint Benedict on Saturday, April 17 for a 1 p.m. doubleheader in St. Joseph.