AURORA, Ill. (SabreAthletics.com) – It was another tough opponent for the Marian University softball team as host and regular season Northern Athletics Conference champion, Aurora University, came out on top in a doubleheader sweep over the Sabres this afternoon, April 28.

The Spartans recorded wins of 8-0 and 15-0 on senior day at the Stuart Complex in Aurora, Ill. The Sabre offense was silenced by the Aurora pitching duo of Natalie Zanella and Vanessa Hartzell. Marian was limited to just five hits combined while the Spartans totaled 23 runs in the two games.

The Sabres fell to 10-24 overall, 8-14 NAC, while the Spartans improved to a league-best 33-3 (23-1 NAC).

In the first inning of game one, Marian's Brie Hechimovich tallied the game's first hit with a single to center field. She would record the Sabres' second hit of the game in the third inning, but was later caught stealing.

Meanwhile, Aurora had its offense firing on all cylinders with two runs in the first and one in the third to take a 3-0 lead.

Zanella kept the Sabres at bay, while the offense did just enough to keep the Spartans in front. Then, in the fourth, two more runs crossed the plate, followed by three more in the fifth to bring the game to an end by run-rule.

For Marian, the last of its three hits came from Shannon Hofmann, who also recorded a single to center field.

Zanella impressively picked up her 18th win of the season, against zero losses.

Hartzell followed her teammate's performance up with a stellar outing of her own, allowing just a hit while striking out four and walking one.

The Sabres had just baserunner reach third base all afternoon and that came in the second inning when the leadoff hitter, Emily Gorges, reached on a walk and advanced on a passed ball and groundout.

Hartzell got enough run support from the get-go with three in the first, one in the second and seven more runs in the third. A four-run fifth then made it 15-0 and gave the Spartans all they needed to capture their 33rd win of the year.

Hartzell picked up her 12th win in the circle for Aurora. Gorges and Brooke Koechell took the loss for the Sabres in both games one and two, respectively.

The losses eliminated the Sabres from the postseason with just two games left to play. Wisconsin Lutheran College secured the sixth seed in the conference tournament, which begins Thursday, May 2.

Marian will host its regular season and home finale Monday, April 29, with a doubleheader against Wisconsin Lutheran. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at Smith Fields.