Freshman center fielder Marta Viefhaus gave the University of Northern Iowa her own little version of the Big Mac Attack Sunday.

Viefhaus’ best impersonation of St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire and the Salukis’ five offerings of two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce and cheese was more than enough for UNI to handle.

The Salukis cranked out five home runs in a 9-6 victory in the first game of a doubleheader in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Viefhaus led the way with two homers to tie the school single-game record. The five home runs as a team tied the school record set back in 1991.

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Some people on the team are starting to call me [McGwire], said Viefhaus, a St. Louis native. Even the umpire asked me if I knew who [McGwire] was.

In the Salukis’ four games this weekend, Viefhaus batted 7-for-15 with 10 RBIs. SIUC swept Bradley University (9-0, 11-0) on the road Saturday.

I think I’m starting to be a little more patient overall, she said. I’m relaxing and not worrying about getting a hit as much.

The Salukis received some more hitting in the second game. After falling behind early, the Salukis regrouped to scored four runs in the sixth to tie the game. A UNI fielding error in the seventh helped SIUC to a 5-4 comeback victory .

Sophomore outfielder Nikki Cosentino’s two-out pop fly in the seventh was dropped by UNI right fielder Amber Sampson and allowed sophomore shortstop Lori Greiner to score the deciding run.

Hitting is contagious, SIUC coach Kay Brechtelsbauer said. The first game we came out hitting the long ball, and the second game they came out hitting the ball well. You can get in a groove and everybody starts swinging the bat well.

The weekend sweep brought the Salukis’ (29-10-1, 11-3) winning streak to six. UNI fell to 17-18, 6-6 while Bradley finished the week 9-21, 2-10.

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The home runs were just a few of the highlights for the Salukis. The bats may have made the noise against UNI, but the combination of sophomore pitcher Carisa Winters and freshman Erin Stremsterfer silenced Bradley hitters Saturday.

The pitching pair held the Braves to three hits in the two shutouts. Both games were called in the fifth inning because of the eight-run rule.

Winters (13-6) allowed two hits and struck out eight before Stremsterfer (10-2) followed with a one-hitter.

The pitching impressed Brechtelsbauer as it has done all season. But the importance of run support the Salukis failed to have in previous games was more significant. SIUC had four different players with multi-RBI games in the wins against the Braves.

They have really had to work to win games this season, Brechtelsbauer said. I think the run support helped them relax.

The Salukis appear to be hitting on all cylinders at the right time because they still trail Creighton University (9-1 in the MVC) for the Valley lead. SIUC sandwiches non-conference foes the University of Missouri-Columbia and St. Louis University this week.

The Salukis will have four conference games remaining after that, and Creighton is the final opponent on the schedule.

Viefhaus said she does not plan to look past St. Louis and Missouri, but the Creighton matchup stands in the back of her mind.

I think we’ll have fun relaxing with a break from the conference before getting ready for the next weekend, she said. We’re definitely coming together as a team, and everyone’s hitting the ball well.

Factoid:The Salukis play the University of Missouri-Columbia on the road 4 p.m. Wednesday.