The 25th-ranked UW-Eau Claire softball team started off its 2008 NCAA Division III Softball Regional Championship in dominating fashion with a 10-0 win over North Central College (Ill.) in five innings.

Eau Claire advances to face either Aurora University (Ill.) or conference foe No. 14 UW-Oshkosh on Friday.

Jenny Ross helped Eau Claire advance that far with a one-hitter over the Cardinals. She went all five and struck out two to improve to 20-2. The North Central pitcher, Kelli Loeffel, drops to 11-7 on the year. She allowed 11 hits in the five inning game and struck out three.

The Blugold offense gave Ross two runs in the third, but the rest came in an eight-run fifth. The third-inning tallies came off a squeeze play by Tamara Zeman and error by the pitcher during the same play.

The Blugolds put up seven of their 11 hits in the fifth and also took advantage of a walk and an error. Michelle Butkus, Kristi Doucette and Bekki Kidnie each had an RBI single while Ross had an RBI double. Casey Leisgang had a bases-clearing triple with two down to move the Blugolds to double-digits. Only half of the runs in the game were earned as the Cards committed three errors.

Leisgang went 3 for 4 and knocked in three while scoring once. Doucette had a 2-for-2 game with a run and an RBI. Nine different Blugolds scored during the game.

Eau Claire will play Oshkosh at 6 p.m. on Gelein Field. North Central will face Aurora, IL at 2 p.m. Friday.