The Muhlenberg softball posted two big shutout wins on its second day in Myrtle Beach.
 
The Mules (5-2) blanked Mt. Aloysius, 7-0, and Maine-Presque Isle, 19-0, giving them three shutouts in their last four games. They've outscored their four Myrtle Beach opponents by a 48-2 margin and have allowed more than two runs only once in seven games this season.
 
A day after scoring 11 runs in back-to-back games, the Mule offense was stymied at the start of the Mt. Aloysius game. Muhlenberg went nine up and nine down in the first three innings before using some small-ball to get untracked.
 
Senior Sophia Cicchetti led off the fourth by beating out a bunt, then alertly swiped second when the Mounties were slow to get the ball back into the circle. Freshman Peri Kahn followed by beating out another bunt and then stole second.
 
Sophomore Scooter Hulsen brought in both runners with a single to center, and two-out RBI hits by senior Gillian Zack and junior Ava Calabrese later in the inning made it 4-0.
 
A two-run triple by junior Kaya Mahy capped a three-run third.
 
Junior Justine Bergara, sophomore Leeanna Zagrodnik and freshman Samantha Fehrenbach combined on a six-hit shutout. Bergara tossed the first four frames to extend her consecutive scoreless inning streak to 12. The Mounties mounted a threat in the seventh, loading the bases with one out, but Fehrenbach preserved the shutout with a called third strike and infield pop.
 
The Mules had no trouble getting their offense untracked at the start of the Maine-Presque Isle game. The first 10 batters all reached base by hit or walk, and they all scored. It was their first double-digit run inning since a 10-run frame against St. Elizabeth in 2020 and their first time scoring 10 or more runs in the first inning since a 1999 game against Swarthmore.

Two of the 10 batters to reach base at the start of the game circled them: Mahy and Cicchetti both legged out inside-the-park home runs. Mahy raced around the bases to bring in three runs after hitting the ball into the right-field corner, and Cicchetti, who led off the inning with a single, hit an inside-the-park grand slam to the right-center gap.

It was the first grand slam for Muhlenberg since 2017, and it was part of a big game for Cicchetti, who finished a double short of the cycle and drove in 5 runs.

The Mules batted around again in the second, adding six runs, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Hulsen (pictured above).

In all, 15 different batters had hits for the Mules. Sophomores Sophia Jacobson and Lauren Siesky and freshman Lillie Teague all notched their first career hits.

Senior Raya Kunes gave up a double to the first batter she faced but no other hits, combining with freshmen Gabby Colder and Abby Liebowitz for a one-hit shutout.