TACOMA, Wash. - Whitworth hit five more home runs on Sunday, including a school record four in a 7-1 win in the opener, to win both halves of a Northwest Conference softball doubleheader at Puget Sound and sweep the four game series from the Loggers. The 16th-ranked Pirates (21-3 overall, 16-0 NWC) hit ten home runs in the series while increasing a winning streak over UPS (16-12, 5-11) to nine games in a row.

Heather Case went 5 for 6 at the plate and hit her sixth home run of the season and the 15th of her career. Pitcher Jessie LaPlante improved to 12-0 in the first game and picked her first save of the season in the finale.

Case went 5 for 6, hit her 6th HR of 2007

Game 1: Whitworth 7, Puget Sound 1 - Box score
Whitworth set a school record with four home runs in the contest, Case went 4 for 4 in the game and LaPlante threw a complete-game, four-hitter.

Lindsay Davis and Case hit back to back home runs to center field in the first inning to stake the Pirates to an early 2-0 lead. Lacey Kerr singled home Davis in the third for a 3-0 lead, and Amber Fowler singled home Lacey Parry in the fourth to make the score 4-0.

Fowler led off the seventh with her second home run of the season, and of the series. Two batters later, Halley Cey hit one out, driving in LaPlante, for the school-record fourth home run of the game. It was Cey's second of the series and third of the season.

LaPlante allowed a single run in the sixth inning, on a bases loaded walk with two outs, on four hits to improve to 12-0. She struck out six and walked two. Three of the Loggers' four hits came in the sixth, loading the bases.

LaPlante improved to 12-0 and earned a save

Game 2: Whitworth 5, Puget Sound 4 - Box score
Whitworth held off a late UPS rally to sweep the weekend series. Once again the long ball proved crucial, despite the fact that the Pirates hit only one in the game. But that one home run was Rachel Anderson's solo shot to center field in the top of the seventh, giving Whitworth a 5-1 lead and proving to be the eventual difference.

Fowler doubled home Kerr in the second for the Pirates' first run. Whitworth added another in the fifth on Anderson's single, which scored Fowler from second after her second double of the game.

In the sixth, Kerr doubled home Case and then scored on an error by the UPS pitcher to give Whitworth a 4-0 lead.

Jessica Roberts singled home the first UPS run in the sixth before Anderson's shot in the seventh gave the Bucs a seemingly comfortable 5-1 lead.

Case, who started at pitcher, allowed only one run on five hits through six innings. But the first three UPS batters in the seventh reached base on consecutive singles. LaPlante came on in relief and got the next batter to ground to short, but a run scored. Another run scored on a wild pitch, then LaPlante got a ground out to second, but the final runner came home from third pulled the Loggers within 5-4. Further drama followed when Victoria Raeburn doubled and Roberts was hit by a pitch, putting the potential winning run on base. LaPlante got a fly ball out to center field to end the game.

Case did pick up the win in the circle, improving to 6-2 this season.

Up Next: The Pirates, who remain a half game ahead of 6th-ranked Linfield (24-4, 15-1) in the NWC standings, will travel to Lewis & Clark next weekend for another four game NWC series. The Pioneers are 4-24 overall and 2-16 in the NWC, but upset 25th-ranked Willamette while splitting a doubleheader with the Bearcats on Friday. Saturday's doubleheader with Pacific was rained out. Whitworth swept a four game series from L&C last season at home.