The Austin 16U softball team used a trio of pitchers to shut down the Rochester Eagles and the Austin bats did the rest of the work as they swept a doubleheader by scores of 5-4 in six innings and 14-0 in five innings in Todd Park Wednesday.

Tori Gardner picked up the win in game one when she scattered seven hits and Hannah Rasmussen allowed just one hit in four innings to get the win in the nightcap. Liz Christianson pitched a scoreless inning in both wins for Austin (15-6-1 overall, 7-5-1 Southern Minny).

“I thought it would be a nice game because we had Liz come in and she’s a different pitcher who can change speeds and mix things up,” Gardner, who also went five-for-five with four RBIs at the plate, said.

Austin head coach Dan King said this was the first time he had used all three pitchers in a doubleheader and he liked the results. Rochester scored just three earned runs in 11 innings of softball.

“Today was a great day and we got better as the day went on,” King said. “It worked out really well and we gave them three different looks with three different speeds [in the circle].”

The first game saw Austin edge out a nail-biter when Faith King singled to start the bottom of the sixth inning and she eventually scored on a wild pitch to win it.

The second game saw Austin take over early on as it piled on four runs in the top of the fourth. Austin racked up 14 hits in the win and Ramsey Gilson was four-for-four with a double and three RBIs.

Rasmussen, who cruised in the circle in the big win, said it took the pressure off when the team got off to a fast start.

“When we get ahead and we take the stress away, we’re good,” she said. “When we get stressed, we’re not as good.”

Dan King said his team has been a little more resilient in tourney games than it has been in the regular season and he’s hoping to push Austin to give its best effort on every occasion.

“In tournament games we haven’t got rattled, but in the regular season games we acted like it wasn’t as important,” Dan King said. “We’re trying to teach them to be consistent.”

Rochester 0 1 0 0 2 1 — 4 7 1

Austin 1 0 3 0 0 1 — 5 7 1

Austin pitching: Tori Gardner (W) 5 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 K; Liz Christianson, 1 IP, 1 BB, 0 R

Austin hitting: Lily Riddles, 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 SB, BB; Hannah Biwer, 1-for-3, R, SB; Addison Medgaarden, 1-for-2, R, SB, HBP; Ramsey Gilson, 0-for-1, RBI, 2 BBs; Caitlin Kaercher, 0-for-3; Faith King, 1-for-2, HBP, SB; Tori Garnder, 3-for-3, 2 RBIs; Hannah Rasmussen, 0-for-3; Jenna Braaten, 0-for-2; Christianson, 0-for-2

Austin 0 4 1 6 3 — 14 14 1

Rochester 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 1

Austin pitching: Rasmussen (W) 4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 5 K; Christianson, 1 IP, 0 R, 1 HBP

Austin hitting: Riddles, 0-for-3, BB; Biwer, 0-for-1, 2 R, SB, 2 BBs, HBP; Medgaarden, 2-for-4, 2 R; Kaercher, 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R; King, 1-for-3, 2 R, SB, HBP; Gilson, 4-for-4, double, 3 RBIs; Gardner, 2-for-2, 2 RBIs, 2 R, SB, 2 BBs; Rasmussen, 1-for-2, RBI, 2 R, 2 BBs; Braaten, 1-for-2, 2 RBIs, R, 2 BBs; Christianson, 1-for-3, RBI