The Austin softball team never got its offense going on full throttle, but it did take one of two games against Winona in Todd Park Thursday.

The Packers (5-8 overall, 5-5 Big Nine) won the opener 1-0 behind a shutout by pitcher Marie Clennon and they lost the nightcap 11-0.

“Winona’s a good team and they’re going to be at the top of the conference,” Austin head coach Tina Strauss said. “That was a huge win for us and I think we’ll turn a few heads when the scores come out tomorrow around the conference.”

Clennon was able to pitch her way out of trouble twice in the late innings. In the fifth, two Austin errors put runners on the corners with no outs and Clennon struck out two straight before forcing a pop up.

In the sixth, the Winhawks (5-2 overall, 5-2 Big Nine) had runners on second and third with two outs when Clennon forced a groundout.

“I stepped up and kind of pitched them where I needed to,” Clennon said. “We got one more win and that’s a plus, but we could’ve done without the loss. We played really good in the first game, we all communicated and we all played as a team. We couldn’t ask for much more.”

Austin’s had just three hits in the win and it got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Abby Gallaher reached on an error and Haley Underwood bunted pinch runner Carley Grunewald to second. Katelyn Joseph came up with a single to left field and Lindsey Miller laid down a sacrifice bunt to put the Packers up 1-0.

“The first game literally took every single person in our entire dugout to get the win, so it was a true team effort,” Strauss said. “That bunt was huge and sometimes that’s how games are won. You only need one run.”

The Winhawks out-hit Austin 12-4 in the second game as the Packers committed six errors.

Austin, which played without junior catcher Danielle Tschann due to an ankle injury, has now matched last season’s win total with seven games to go.

Winona 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 5 2

Austin 0 0 0 0 1 0 X — 1 3 2

Austin pitching: Marie Clennon (W), 7 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 0 R, 7 K

Austin hitting: Lindsey Miller, 0-for-1, RBI, BB, SB; Liz Gerhart, 0-for-2, BB; Clennon, 0-for-3; Taylor Hackensmith, 0-for-3; Hope McAlister, 1-for-2; Abby Gallaher, 0-for-3; Haley Underwood, 0-for-1; Katelyn Joseph, 1-for-2; Molly Maschka, 1-for-1; Carley Grunewald, R; Amber Schmit, SB

Winona 0 0 4 0 4 0 3 — 11 12 0

Austin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 6

Austin pitching: Abbey Ball (L), 4 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 K; Clennon, 2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 1 K

Austin hitting: Miller, 0-for-3; Gerhart, 1-for-3; Clennon, 0-for-3; Hackensmith, 0-for-3; Ball, 1-for-3; Jennifer Yocom, 0-for-2; Gallaher, 1-for-2, double; Underwood, 0-for-2; Joseph, 1-for-2, BB