The Buena Vista softball team matched its highest win total since 2001 on Wednesday afternoon, and in the process completed its first doubleheader sweep of Central College since 1996, as it won by scores of 9-0 (5) and 5-4 (10).

The bats were alive early and often in the opener for the Beavers, including a big three-run, opposite field home run from Marissa Schmidt in the first inning for a 3-0 lead.  BVU then went on to add three more runs, including a pair of bases loaded walks, in the second to extend the advantage to 6-0.

Ashley Gibbs, who homered on Tuesday night against Coe, added another in the third inning against the Dutch for a 7-0 lead before adding and RBI single in the fourth.

Gibbs finished 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored, while Schmidt went 2-for-2 with a walk, four RBI and a run scored.  Keely Bycroft also added a pair of hits and scored once.

Jenna Falline scattered just four singles and struck out four while going the distance and picking up her career-high eighth win of the year.

The nightcap turned into an ultimate classic of a game.  Both starting pitchers were on top of their games until the late innings, and there wasn't much offense until it went into extras.

Moriah Guyett struck out seven of the first nine batters she faced, and did not allow a hit until the fourth.  Buena Vista scored the game's first run in the fifth when Taylor Draisey came on to pinch hit and came through with a sacrifice fly to right.

Central threatened to tie it in the sixth, but the Beavers got the final out at home plate after the Dutch tried to steal home.  With runners at the corners, Central attempted to steal second but the ball was cut off by Autumn Boland, and after she tossed the ball back to first, Bycroft then turned and threw a strike to Cheyanne Boland at the plate, who put the tag down.

The Beavers then took the one-run lead to the seventh where they were one out away from victory before the Dutch tied it on a double to dead center. 

Central then scored three times in the top of the eighth inning, including a two-run double with two outs that broke the tie, and took a 4-1 lead to the home half.

BVU went on to load the bases with no outs in the home half and cut the deficit to 4-2 on an RBI groundout two second from Jeanne Bramhall that moved runners to second and third.  Autumn Boland then came through with a game-tying two run single back up the middle.

Neither team scored in the ninth, and then Guyett worked around an error with a strikeout to end the 10th and strand a runner at second.

Back-to-back walks put two on with no outs in the home half, and after a wild pitch, Autumn Boland then squirted a ball toward second base that was bobbled, allowing ReAnn Cappel to score the winning run from third.

Cheyanne Boland, along with Bycroft, each had two of the team's six hits in the contest.  Bramhall was 0-for-2 but drew three of BVU's seven walks.

Guyett went all 10 innings for BVU and finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts without issuing a walk.

Buena Vista improves to 18-11 overall (5-1 IIAC) and will now look to add to that win total on Saturday afternoon when it entertains second-ranked Luther College (27-1, 4-0 IIAC) at 1:00pm.