GLADSTONE — The Gladstone softball team achieved a milestone while building some momentum before districts in a doubleheader sweep of Norway here Thursday evening. The Braves won the opener 5-1 and the nightcap 13-2 to reach 30 wins on the season in their regular season finale.

Gladstone didn’t leave much doubt in the second game, jumping out to an 8-0 lead after the first inning. Taylor Trudeau and Jenna Tardiff led off with back-to-back doubles to give the Braves a 1-0 lead, then Taelor Zeise drove in two runs with a double to right field to increase the advantage to 3-0 two batters later. Marnnea LaFave capped the inning with her first career varsity home run with a three-run blast to center to make it 8-0.

“I was very satisfied with the hitting today,” Braves’ coach Darin Hunter said. “We came off our second game against Escanaba (Tuesday) hitting the ball hard, and we picked it back up again with these two games. I think we hit the ball a little bit better in the second game than the first couple innings of the first game. The girls came around and got the timing down, and started hitting the ball like they normally can.”

The Braves (30-6) tacked on three runs in the second on a two-run double by Natalie Hansen and an RBI single by Andie Balenger to increase the lead to 11-1. Their last two runs came in the third inning on an RBI triple by Sydney Herioux and an RBI groundout by Megan Crow.

“The philosophy is keep it simple, stupid. The simpler you keep it, the easier it is for the girls to pick up on it, and we can see the results with 30 wins,” Hunter said. “I think everybody in our starting lineup has hit a home run this year, which is pretty impressive, I think. It speaks to the depth. The girls have been practicing hard, and they have a lot to show for it. They’re doing well.”

Balenger earned the win over the first two innings, surrendering one unearned run on two hits while walking one. Crow pitched the remaining three innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out one.

Norway (19-14) got its runs on an RBI single by Mackenzie Gilroy in the the second and an RBI groundout by Cassidy Menard in the third. Kali Stanchina absorbed the complete game loss.

The Braves jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opener on a two-run single by Morgan Letteriello and an RBI double by Hansen in the first inning.

The Knights held their own behind pitcher Mariah Gyselinck until the sixth inning, when she was hit in the shin by a line drive and was forced to come out of the game. Stanchina then came in and surrendered a two-run double to LaFave, giving the Braves a 5-0 cushion.

“It was 3-0, and we had a potential double play. We missed it because the throw was high from second to first, and after that they picked up two more,” Knights’ coach Bob Bal said. “It’s a 3-0 game and the final was 5-1, so that was tough. I told the girls they played them tough, but their bats came alive. You can’t keep a good team down that long.”

Balenger fanned four over six innings to earn the win, and Crow pitched the seventh. Hansen finished 3 for 3 while Letteriello and Zeise had two hits each.

Gyselinck took the loss for the Knights, while Haley Clifford scored their lone run on a throwing error in the seventh.

Hunter talked about how reaching 30 wins is a huge accomplishment.

“That’s really good. Even though we had to go downstate a lot to get enough of the games in, we were facing good opponents so we get to measure our abilities against the teams we might face in the region and beyond, hopefully,” he said. “So, 30 wins is really impressive. I think what’s more impressive is that we had single-digit losses. I think that’s an even bigger thing.”

Despite getting swept, Bal said playing a team like Gladstone is a huge plus before districts begin.

“It’s super beneficial. When their coach got a hold of me last week to see if we wanted to play, I said absolutely,” Bal said. “That’s what we need to see. It doesn’t matter if we win, we need to see quality opponents and quality pitching because sooner or later in our district we’re going to run into Bark River-Harris, or Rapid (River) has a decent pitcher. That’s what you need to face. Everyone is 0-0 when it comes to district time.”

Norway hosts BR-H Tuesday, while Gladstone hosts its Division 3 district June 1.