MARINETTE, Wis. — It only seems as if Marley Carviou has been mowing down batters for four seasons. It has actually only been three.

After his team lost 2-1 to St. Thomas Aquinas Academy/Lena, Niagara coach Duane Blagec talked about how his Badger teams have had to face Carviou for four years. Then came the “oh no” moment when he realized that Carviou is a junior, and that his team must face her twice again next season.

Carviou fired a complete-game four-hitter to lead the Cavalettes past Niagara in Monday’s M&O Conference softball game at Higley Field. Carviou walked none and struck out six.

“I felt confident,” Carviou said. “Really good defense behind me.”

Jazz Payette pitched a six-hitter for Niagara, with no walks and four strikeouts.

“We ran into a hot pitcher,” Blagec said. “Our pitching was great, their pitching was great. It was a good 2-1 ballgame.”

The Cavalettes did all of their damage with two outs in the third inning. Kaitlin Hodkiewicz was hit by a pitch, Carviou singled and Millie Benson doubled them home. after that, Payette allowed just two more baserunners.

Carviou retired the side in order in six innings before Niagara threatened in its last at-bat. Taylor Tushoski hit a one-out single, Sarah Nawn followed with a hit and a run scored on a passed ball. Abby McCarthy singled but Carviou struck out the final two batters looking to leave the tying and lead run stranded.

“A lot of people think a 2-1 game is boring,” Blagec said. “Well, that was far from boring.”

The teams split their games this season, and the regional seeding meeting is looming. STAA/Lena improved to 5-5 in the M&O, 8-5 overall; Niagara is 6-5 and 7-5.

“That was a big game,” Cavalette coach Cindy Powers said. “Everyone was moving very well. The big thing was we didn’t get down on ourselves.”

STAA/Lena recovered from last week’s 16-0 loss to Coleman to play impressively in back-to-back wins.

“I think we came out with a lot more energy,” Carviou said. “It’s a great team. There’s a lot of confidence from everyone at every position. Very proud of our team. I’m proud to be a Cavalette.”

Niagara 000 000 1 — 1

STAA-Lena 002 000 x — 2

WP — Marley Carviou 7 IP, 1R, 4H, 0W, 6K

LP — Jazz Payette 6 IP, 2R, 6H, 0W, 4K

Leading hitters (STAA-Lena): Millie Benson 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Lillian Sellen 1-2; Carviou & Brooke Peterson 1-3; (Niagara): Abby McCarthy 1-2; Peyton Aderman, Taylor Tushoski & Sarah Nawn 1-3.