Hopkins swept a doubleheader against undefeated Belding Friday to claim its eighth consecutive victory in softball.
The Lady Vikings, after a slow 1-2 start, now are on a roll and sporting a 9-2 overall record this spring. It was their first game in a week because of the recent spate of wet weather.
Hopkins stole the lead late in the game in a 6-5 victory in the first game. With the score tied at 4 in the bottom of the sixth, Maddie Wyngarden tripled in the winning two runs. Belding had scored three runs in the sixth inning, but hurler Madelyn Schans was able to hang on in the seventh frame. She lasted seven innings, allowing four hits and five runs while striking out 12.
The Lady Vikings racked up ten hits in the game. Wyngarden and Hannah Wubben both had two of the hits.
Sierra Smith had a welcome impressive outing on the mound in the nightcap. She tossed a one-hit shutout in four innings of work.
Hopkins came out of the gate fast in the second game by plating nine runs. The rally was led by singles by Morgan Dykstra, Kaitlin Bluhm, Emma Martonosi, and Schans, a groundout by Smith, an error on a ball put in play by Wyngarden, and a double by Schans.
The Vikings racked up 14 hits in the game. Smith, Martonosi, Schans, and Wyngarden each collected multiple hits.