WATERLOO - The race between the Prairie and Xavier softball teams is going down to the wire.

The Prairie Hawks swept Waterloo West, 10-5 and 19-4 in six innings, in a Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill in Waterloo.

The sweep kept Prairie in a first-place tie with Xavier in the Valley Division with identical 16-6 league marks with four games left in the MVC campaign.

Amanda Stecklein went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and a double for the Hawks in the first game. Gabi Carter went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a double. Mallory Jones was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Olivia Usher went 4-for-5 with three runs, two RBIs and two doubles in the second game. Jones was 4-for-5 with two runs, four RBIs and a triple.

Carter hit a home run and drove in two runs. Halle Lueck was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Sara Stevenson went 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs.

Prairie (21-11) scored 12 runs in the sixth inning.

GAME 1

PRAIRIE (10): Lash, cf, 5 2 1 0, Jones, ss, 5 0 2 2, Carter, 3b, 5 1 3 2, Gudenkauf, 1b, 3 1 1 0, Rumer, dp, 4 0 1 0, Usher, rf, 3 0 0 1, O'Brian, c, 3 0 1 0, Lueck, lf, 4 2 1 0, Stecklein, 2b, 4 2 3 2, Kuch, p, 0 0 0 0, Moenk, cr, 0 2 0 0. Totals 36 10 13 7.

Prairie                300 330 1 - 10 13 2
Waterloo West  200 000 3 -  5  9 6

W - Kuch.

GAME 2

PRAIRIE (19): Lash, cf, 2 2 0 0, Jones, ss, 5 1 4 4, Carter, 3b, 3 2 1 2, Gudenkauf, 1b, 4 1 1 1, Digman, dp, 1 1 0 0, Usher, rf, 5 3 4 2, O'Brian, c, 4 0 1 2, Lueck, lf, 3 2 2 1, Stecklein, 2b, 4 2 2 2, Stevenson, ph, 2 2 2 3, Thumann, ph, 1 0 0 0, Moenk, cr, 0 1 0 0, Pipolo, pr, 0 1 0 0, Wahlert, pr, 0 1 0 0. Totals 34 19 17 17.

Prairie               010 42(12) - 19 17 4
Waterloo West 310 000 - 4 7 0

W - Carter. S - Halvorson.