HARTFORD, Conn. – Senior All-America third baseman Arielle Cooper (Mystic) tied her own season record with her tenth and 11^th home runs of the season, and broke the career record for runs scored to power the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team to a sweep of Trinity College for the fifth straight year, 9-0, 11-7 Tuesday afternoon.

A winner of 12 of its last 14, Eastern (15-7) collected 22 hits and capitalized on seven Trinity (8-11) errors to score 11 unearned runs in posting its fifth doubleheader sweep since returning from Florida. The Warriors entered the afternoon ranked fifth nationally in batting average (.372) and sixth in slugging percentage (.554).

Cooper pushed her career batting average over .400 to .403 by going 4-for-7 with a double, a home run in each game, four RBI,  four runs scored and two walks. The second run that she scored in the first game established a program career record of 151, and her home run leading off the fifth inning of the second game equalled the program record of 11 that she shares with Rachel Denny.

Cooper entered the game ranked among the national Top Ten in eight individual categories, including first in toughest to strikeout (no strikeouts), and second in batting average (.641), slugging (1.297) and on-base percentage (.699).

The first-game victory was the 300^th in the 12-year head coaching career of Diana Pepin (now 301-165-1), who became the program's winningest head coach late last season.

Senior righty Christine Akcer (Milford) tossed her first shutout of the season in the opener, improving to 4-0 and lowering her ERA to 1.41 with the complete-game three-hitter. She fanned five and  walked two. Four Eastern pitchers saw time in the nightcap, when the Warriors scored four runs in each of their first two at-bats, then traded runs in the late innings after the Bantams countered with three in the bottom of the third in chasing sophomore starter Shannon Martin (Wethersfield). Sophomore righty Erin Miller (Waterford) was credited with her fifth win (fourth straight) against a loss by pitching a scoreless seventh inning, fanning one.

Eastern rapped eight extra-base hits, with Martin and sophomore Sam Rossetti (Shelton) both doubling and homering and junior catcher Megan Bondy (Mystic) tripling. Rossetti scored three runs and knocked in five, three coming on a home run that staked the Warriors to a 3-0 lead in the third inning of the opener. Martin and senior Kelly Paterson (Southington) also drove in three runs, with Rossetti scoring three times and junior Mattie Brett (Waterford) reaching four times with two singles and two walks and scoring three runs.

Eastern visits Salve Regina University Thursday for a 4 p.m. doubleheader.