Mike Kraft/MDN Minot’s Carly Cummings steals second during the second game of a doubleheader against Wausau on Tuesday at Corbett Field.

In their inaugural season last year, the Minot Honeybees needed the entire 31 days to win five games in the month of July.

This season, they not only matched that total, but eclipsed it, just eight days and seven games into the month of July, setting a new franchise record in the process.

The Honeybees used the long ball and 12 total hits in a 10-2 victory in Game 1 before turning to the sacrifice fly for a bulk of their runs in their 4-3 win in Game 2 for a doubleheader sweep of Wausau (Wisc.) on Tuesday at Corbett Field. The pair of victories stretched their win streak to five games, setting a new franchise record. It broke their previous mark of four, which they set back in mid-June of this year.

“We spent a lot of time in the winter recruiting and going over how we did it last year,” Minot coach Craig Montvidas said. “We started it in October and we got lucky with a few things, too.”

Minot (13-8) received offensive contributions up and down the lineup in the opener, as seven starters recorded a hit and four produced multi-hit performances. Solo home runs by Bella Cimino and Taylor Chillingworth opened the scoring in the second inning.

“The biggest thing is us all being one as a team,” Cimino said. “Our confidence is really, really good. It comes back to us trusting each other and knowing that the next person behind you is going to do it.”

Chillingworth and Cimino are the top-two home run hitters for the Honeybees this season, with five and four, respectively.

Virginia Mambelli pushed Minot’s lead to 4-0 in the third with a two-run single to score Makenna Alexander and Trinity Gregg. Mambelli finished Game 1 with a game-high three RBIs.

Gregg collected one of her team-high three hits in the fourth to plate Alexander for a second time and an error at second base allowed Carly Cummings to touch home as well. Chillingworth added to her stat sheet earlier in the inning with an RBI double to left as the Honeybees put up three more runs to build a 7-0 lead.

Cummings and Gregg would each record RBI singles in the sixth to put the Honeybees into double figures for the first time since June 17 when they put up 17 runs at Madison.

Julianna Verni picked up her fourth victory on the mound for the Honeybees, allowing two hits over five innings. It was her second consecutive start without yielding a run. Cienna Clemens pitched the final two innings to seal down the victory.

The Ignite (6-16) threatened to halt Minot’s winning streak in Game 2, grabbing a late 3-2 lead in the fifth inning. Brooklyn Hofer drew Wausau even with a single up the middle to score Riley Schwisow and the Ignite took the lead when Kaylee Kinsinger scored on an error at second base.

“I think they came out a bit stronger that second game, but we knew we could hit and get the win,” Chillingworth said. “When they tied it up, we knew we had to do what we needed to do. We got a couple sac flies to get the runs across.”

But the lead was short-lived as the Honeybees responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, both via sacrifice flies. Cimino had the first, allowing Virginia Mambelli to score after she led off the inning by getting plunked on the elbow. Chillingworth followed, delivering a long fly ball to score Shayna Myshrall, who doubled down the line during her at bat.

The Honeybees scored three runs off sacrifice flies in the nightcap. Cimino delivered the team’s first in the opening inning to score Trinity Gregg. Cimino finished with three RBIs in the doubleheader.

“Going up to bat I knew there were less than two outs, so I just had to do it for the team and not worry about my batting average and just get it to the outfield and get a run,” Cimino said. “It comes down to who can get the most runs, so it doesn’t matter about hitting a home run, just getting runs when it matters.”

Verni started Game 1, but her day wasn’t done as she entered in the sixth to close out the game. She did just that, tossing two perfect innings to pick up her second save of the season and hand Wausau its eighth straight loss. It preserved the win for starting pitcher Jackie Albrecht, who allowed three runs on five hits in five innings, striking out four and walking five.

Minot’s defense was strong in both games, turning a pair of timely double plays in both contests. One double play got the Honeybees out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs during the fourth inning of Game 1. Verni walked the first three batters she faced in the inning, but got Kayle Frydenlund to ground into a 3-2-4 double play. Mia Johnson flew out to right with runners on second and third to end the inning.

“There were a couple beauties,” Montvidas said. “There was one big league double play and then we got the double play from home to first. I told them about eight games ago that if we can clean up the little things, and we’re just not as sloppy, then we’re going to be tough to beat, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

The Honeybees have won six of seven to start the month, putting in their rearview mirror the four-game losing streak they had to close out June. They currently sit four games back of Madison for the division lead, but lead Mankato by 3.5 games for the second playoff spot. The Habaneros have lost six straight.

“I thought we played really well,” Montvidas said. “We have a lot of confidence right now. Things are going well right now. Softball is like an elevator, it goes up and down. And right now our elevator is going to each floor.”

The Honeybees look to extend their winning streak today as they go for the series sweep of Wausau at 6:35 p.m. at Corbett Field.