St. Thomas senior Jessica Eppenberger threw a five-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory over St. Benedict to complete a doubleheader sweep Sunday at South Field and boost the Tommies into first place in the MIAC softball standings.

Eppenberger (17-4) allowed no walks and struck out two in blanking the Bennies.

St. Thomas (31-7 overall, 16-4 MIAC) won the opener 8-4, with sophomore Melissa Barry providing three hits with a run scored and an RBI. For the day, Barry went 5 for 8 with three runs and two RBIs as St. Thomas moved past St. Benedict (26-10, 15-5) in the standings.

This is the Tommie’s 18th straight season with 30 or more victories.

The Bennies suffered their first MIAC sweep of the season and dropped to third place.

St. Thomas sophomore Jenna Bromen went 2 for 2 with three RBIs in the opener to support Sammy Hogan (13-2), who gave up 11 hits in seven innings.

The Tommies’ last regular season matchup is at Bethel on Saturday.