ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana dropped a pair of games on the opening day of the Augustana Invitational on Saturday, March 23 at Carver Field. The Vikings managed just eight hits over 14 innings in falling to Dubuque 4-2 and Illinois College 5-0.
 
DUBUQUE 4, AUGUSTANA 2
 
Augustana rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Dubuque with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Spartans answered with two in the top of the seventh to earn a 4-2 victory and move to 10-4 on the year.
 
Dina Falk (Lake Park Bloomingdale, Ill.) started the Viking sixth with a one-out single to left center. She was erased on Taylor Belo's fielder's choice grounder to short, but Carly Wilson (Johnsburg HS, Ringwood, Ill.) followed with a single to right. Belo moved to third, with Wilson taking second on the throw. Molly Wrenn (Geneva HS, Geneva, Ill.) drove them both in with a single to right, tying the contest at 2-2. Haley Ruch (Lincoln-Way North HS, Frankfort, Ill.) drew a walk, but Dubuque's Kayla Breunig escaped without further damage.
 
Kylee Biedermann's two-out, two-run single to left center off Kelcie Fredrickson (Fisher HS, Foosland, Il.) in the top of the seventh put the Spartans back on top and Breunig pitched around a two-out walk in the bottom half to close out the complete game win.
 
Dubuque tallied a run off Augustana starter Cecilia Peine (Holt HS, Wentzville, Mo.) in the fourth and another off Fredrickson in the fifth to go up 2-0. Deanna Origer's RBI double plated the Spartans' fourth-inning tally and Kaylin Featheringill had an RBI single in the fifth.
 
Fredrickson, who relieved Peine after four innings, allowed three runs in three innings and fell to 2-2 with the loss. Peine gave up one run on three hits and fanned five without issuing a walk. Breunig went the distance for Dubuque, surrendering five hits, walking three and striking out three to improve to 2-2 on the season.
 
Falk and Wilson each had a pair of hits for Augustana. Biedermann and Origer paced the Spartan attack with two hits each.
 
ILLINOIS COLLEGE 5, AUGUSTANA 0
 
The Augustana offense was in hibernation mode as the Vikings managed just three hits in a 5-0 loss to Illinois College in the second game of the Augustana Invitational.
 
Augustana didn't manage a hit off Lady Blues starter Sydney Hood until Dina Falk (Lake Park HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) punched one into the outfield in the top of the fourth inning (the Vikings were the visitors in this game). She stole second but Hood set down the next three Augustana batters to get out of any trouble.
 
The Vikings squeezed out two hits in the sixth but couldn't convert as Hood struck out five and walked just one in going the distance.
 
Illinois College scored three times in the second off starter, and loser, Ashley Dehmlow  (McHenry West HS, Spring Grove, Ill.). The Lady Blues added two runs in the sixth.