In a match-up of the top-two teams in the Iowa Conference standings, the Buena Vista softball hang tough all day against second-ranked Luther College, but in the end it was the Norse escaping with the sweep by scores of 2-1 and 5-1.

The Norse entered the day having posted six straight shutouts and had outscored their first two IIAC opponents by a combined scored of 32-0.  The Beavers made things much tougher against them on Saturday, and put an end to their scoreless streak when Keely Bycroft belted a line-drive home run over the fence in right to make it a 2-1 game.

Luther scored the game's first run in the first on an RBI single before doubling home the second in the fifth.

The Beaver defense helped keep the Norse off the scoreboard with some solid defense in both the third and fifth innings.  Luther had runners at second and third in the third with only one out when Ashley Gibbs took a ground ball and fired home to get the runner trying to score for the second out before Cheyanne Boland fired it down to third after the tag to throw out the runner trying to sneak into third.

Marissa Schmidt then fielded a ground ball and threw home before Boland fired back to third to record the final out of the fifth.

Schmidt nearly tied things up at 1-1 in the second but her fly ball was caught at the warning track in left.

BVU was held to just three hits in the contest and left four runners on base.

Jenna Falline was strong on the mound, going the distance and scattering nine hits while striking out four.

The Norse jumped out in front early in game two, plating a pair of runs in the first and one more in the second to take a 3-1 lead.  Bycroft took the first pitch of the fourth inning and drilled it over the left center field fence to cut Luther's lead to 4-1. She finished with two of the team's four hits in the contest.

The Norse added an insurance run in the sixth for the game's final score.

Moriah Guyett got the start and pitched four innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, while striking out five and walking two.  Bycroft came on to start the fifth and went the final three frames.

Buena Vista is now 18-13 on the year (5-3 IIAC) and will look to bounce back on Tuesday afternoon when it travels to Simpson College for a doubleheader starting at 3:00pm.