St. Mary's Colgan softball completed an unbeaten run through CNC League competition and improved to 19-3 on the season overall by sweeping Columbus on Monday night, 7-0 and 13-1 in five innings at the PSU Softball Field.

Bella Ascanio threw a no-hitter in the nightcap and a complete-game shutout in the opener. She allowed no runs on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk over seven innings. Ascanio then surrendered one run (unearned) on no hits with nine strikeouts and one walk in five innings.

At the plate, Ascanio homered during both games. She put together four hits and four RBI in the nightcap, highlighted by a pair of doubles and one home run as Ascanio only lacked a triple for the cycle. Ascanio hit a solo homer in the opener.

Ascanio improved her home run total to nine for the season and bumped up her strikeouts to 211 over 134 2/3 innings.

Callie Lundy's two-run single opened the scoring in the opener and she tripled leading off the third. She finished with two runs scored, two hits and two RBI.

Drew Dayton and Brooklyn Barrows added hits in the opener.

The Panthers tallied 13 hits in the nightcap with two hits each from Lundy and Kretchmar. Kretchmar doubled and Dayton, Ascanio, Lundy, Addie Morris and Kretchmar each scored two runs. Kretchmar drove in three and Kara Osborn and Katie Duncan each picked up a pair of RBI.

Colgan won all 12 league games and swept Frontenac (6-4, 7-3), Baxter Springs (5-2, 12-2), Galena (10-4, 4-0), Riverton (10-0, 13-1) and Girard (8-0, 14-4) on the way to outscoring its league opponents 109-21.

The Panthers return home again Thursday for a single varsity game against Northeast. The Vikings are 18-2 and finished Three Rivers League play a perfect 16-0; they currently stand atop Class 2-1A Regional 3 with Cedar Vale/Dexter (18-2), Central-Burden (17-2) and Colgan (19-3) right behind the Vikings late in the regular season.

Northeast split a doubleheader April 21 against Columbus for the Vikings' only loss (13-10) and they came back for the split in a big way (20-5).

Columbus 000 000 0 — 0 5 2

Colgan 311 020 x — 7 5 2

Morgan Richards; Bella Ascanio and Kylee Kretchmar. W: Ascanio. L: Richards. 3B—SMC: Callie Lundy. HR—SMC: Ascanio.

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Columbus 000 10 — 1 0 0

Colgan 633 1x — 13 13 1

Bella Ascanio and Kylee Kretchmar. W: Ascanio. L: Bentley Townsend. 2B—SMC: Kretchmar, Ascanio 2. HR—SMC: Ascanio.

This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/