WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Catholic University softball team rode Katie Hurd's arm to a solid 4-1 over Elizabethtown on Saturday morning.

In what was a scheduled doubleheader, Catholic was well on their way to a sweep of the Blue Jays before weather halted the second game in the top of the fifth inning. The Cardinals lead 6-0 in the postponed contest.

Hurd was dominant in the circle today, throwing only 73 pitches en route to the complete-game victory.

The senior only allowed four hits and just one unearned run in the win. She was extremely efficient, attacking the strike zone early and often. Hurd registered three innings where she did not throw a ball and recorded three outs on three pitches with the help of a slick double play in the sixth. She struck out four batters and only walked one, all while throwing 78 percent of her pitches for strikes.

Alex Garza put the Cardinals on the board in the home half of the third when she drove a ball to right field. Hailee Weiss scored on the play after leading off the inning with her first-career triple. Later in the frame, Caroline Adams scored when Amanda Gomez got stuck in a rundown between first and second base. 

Hurd's one difficult inning came in the fifth. After Elizabethtown's leadoff batter reached base after being hit by a pitch, back-to-back singles combined with an error allowed the Blue Jays to half the lead. However, despite another error behind Hurd, she retired three of the next four batters to get out of the jam allowing just the single run.

Catholic added two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame when Sarah Spaeth, batting in the clean spot, jumped on the first pitch of the at-bat to score Adams for a second time. Then, designated player Olivia Stinchcomb came through with an RBI double to plate Spaeth.

Wins are important at this time of the year as Catholic chases a berth into the Landmark Conference tournament. The victory takes them to 4-5 in conference play as the top four teams will qualify for the postseason.

With the victory, Hurd improves to 7-7 on the season with a 2.15 ERA. She is averaging 4.67 strikeouts-per-nine-innings, the highest mark of her career.

Catholic will work with Elizabethtown and the Landmark Conference on how to resolve the halted second game.

For now, the Cardinals will look ahead to two non-conference doubleheaders this weekend. Bruce McConkey's team will welcome No. 1 Salisbury on Friday afternoon before hosting Marymount (Va.) on Sunday for Senior Day.