Big first innings propelled Prairie to a pair of softball wins over Dubuque Hempstead Monday night at Prairie.

The Hawks scored 10 runs in the first inning of the opener en route to a 13-1 victory. They tallied nine times in the opening frame in the nightcap and rolled to a 13-2 win. The opener went four innings, the nightcap five.

Gabi Carter had four hits and drove in three runs in the doubleheader.  Brittney Lash had four hits and four RBIs.

Katie Kuch was the winning pitcher in both games.

The sweep gave Prairie a 24-12 overall record and a 19-7 mark in the Mississippi Valley Conference. The Hawks finished second in the Valley Division, one game behind Xavier.

GAME 1

PRAIRIE (13): Jones, ss, 3 0 0 0, Lash, cf, 3 2 2 3, Carter, 3b, 3 2 2 1, Usher, rf, 1 1 0 0, Rumer, dp, 3 1 2 3, Gudenkauf, 1b, 2 1 1 1, O'Brian, c, 1 0 0 0, Stecklein, 2b, 2 1 0 1, Lueck, lf, 2 2 1 2, Kuch, p, 0 0 0 0, Thumann, 0 1 0 0, Moenk, 0 2 0 0. Totals 20 13 8 11.

Hempstead   010 0 -  1 5 1
Prairie    (10)11 1 - 13 8 0

W-Kuch. 2B-Rumer. 3B-Carter.

GAME 2

PRAIRIE (13): Jones, ss, 2 0 0 1, Lash, cf, 3 0 2 1, Carter, 3b, 3 2 2 2, Usher, rf, 3 2 3 1, Rumer, dp, 2 1 0 0, Gudenkauf, 1b, 3 1 2 1, O'Brian, c, 3 0 1 1, Stecklein, 2b, 3 2 1 2, Lueck, lf, 3 1 1 1, Kuch, p, 0 0 0 0, Thumann, 0 1 0 0, Mahnke, ph, 1 0 1 2, Moenk, 0 1 0 0. Totals 26 13 13 12.

Hempstead  101 00 -  2  8 3
Prairie         940 0x - 13 13 1

W-Kuch. 2B-Carter.