CLERMONT, Fla. – Head Coach Kris Kistler's Augustana softball team won two games on Monday, February 25 in Clermont, Florida. The Vikings defeated St. Mary's (MN) 5-4 to start the day and then took down Capital 7-1 to advance Augustana to 3-1 overall.
 
The Vikings are be in action again on Tuesday, February 26 with games against Milwaukee School of Engineering and Cabrini.
 
02/25/19 – AUGUSTANA 5, ST. MARY'S 4
 
It was Augustana jumping out to an early lead against the Cardinals. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Carly Wilson (Johnsburg HS, Ringwood, Ill.) walked and then stole second base. Fellow senior Haley Ruch (Lincoln-Way North HS, Frankfort, Ill.) brought Wilson home with an RBI double, followed by a Jannae Mehaffey (Cherry Creek HS, Englewood, Colo.) walk and a Brittany Pospishil (Lincoln-Way East HS, Mokena, Ill.) RBI single to extend the lead to 2-0.
 
St. Mary's chipped into the Viking lead in the top of the third when Amber Chow singled, plating Hallie Schmeling. Senior pitcher Kelcie Fredrickson (Fisher HS, Foosland, Ill.) kept the damage to a minimum in the third, only allowing the one run. Fredrickson made it 3.1 innings, giving up three hits and only one run, improving her season record to 2-0.
 
In the bottom of the third, Augustana extended the lead to 3-1 with a Wilson triple and a Ruch RBI groundout.
 
The Vikings tacked on a run in both the fourth and fifth innings as well. In the fourth inning Kelsey Heiland (Mountain Vista HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) started a two-out rally with a walk, followed by a single by Taylor Belo (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) and a Dina Falk (Lake Park HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) RBI single. In the fifth inning, Wilson reached base for the third time with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ashley Dehmlow (McHenry West HS, Spring Grove, Ill.) plated Wilson with a single to make the game 5-1.
 
St. Mary's rallied in the top of the seventh inning, scoring three unearned runs. DeJaye Baab scored on error, Schmeling scored her second run of the game on an Amy Kulaga two-out walk, and Chow scored on a Roni Stevens single.
 
Ruch led the Vikings with two RBI and Wilson scored all three times she reached base.
 
02/25/19 – AUGUSTANA 7, CAPITAL 1
 
Augustana started out game two of the day against Capital by scoring in each of the first three innings. In the bottom of the first Dehmlow began the offensive with a double to left field and Wilson brought her in to score with a triple to right field. Claire Weeks (Dundee-Crown HS, Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) reached first on an error, plating Wilson to make it 2-0.
 
Belo led off the second inning for the Vikings with an infield single and later scored on a two-out double by Dehmlow.
 
In the top of the third, Capital cut into the lead. Alyx Slusher walked and then reached second on an error. A Kristen Mellott single plated Slusher. Dehmlow got out of the jam on the mound for Augustana, giving up only the one run and leaving two on base.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, Molly Wrenn (Geneva Community HS, Geneva, Ill.) brought Wilson home on an RBI single and Alyssa Klahn (Lincoln-Way Central HS, New Lenox, Ill.) knocked in two runs with a single of her own, scoring Wrenn and Ruch to make it 6-1.
 
The Vikings added an extra insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Falk reached first on an infield single and Tristan Bautista (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) followed with a single to right field. Falk would score due to an error on the play to give Augustana a 7-1 advantage.
 
The pitching duo of Dehmlow and Cecelia Peine (Wentzville Holt HS, Wentzville, Mo.) combined to allow one unearned run and only five hits on the day. Dehmlow, who pitched four innings, came away with her first win of the season.
 
Dehmlow, Wilson, Wrenn and Belo each had two hits and Klahn led the way with two RBI.