** Courtesy of  BRENDAN QUEALY bquealy@record-eagle.com 

BRETHREN — The pitching was on point for the Buckley Bears in their varsity softball doubleheader against Brethren on Thursday.

Of the 36 outs the Bears recorded in their twinbill sweep of the Bobcats, 31 of those came via the strikeout. Maddie Chilson went six innings and struck out 17 in the Bears' 11-0 victory in game one, and Kayla Milarch K'd 14 in her six innings of work as Buckley won 7-4. Chilson allowed just three hits in her shutout victory.

The duo of strikeout artists also did well with a bat in their hands as Chilson and Milarch each picked up two hits in game one. Both of Milarch's base knocks were doubles, and she scored three times. Allie Brimmer also had two hits, including a double. Allison Moyer had a pair of hits that included a triple, and Aiden Harrand also picked up two hits.

In game two, Chilson hit two home runs, drove in three and scored three times. Milarch had two more hits as did Harrand and Lucy Moyer.

The Bears are now 11-1 and will next play when they head to Suttons Bay on Tuesday. The Bobcats fall to 4-8 and look to rebound when they travel to Bear Lake on Monday.