ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Runs were certainly at a premium on Saturday afternoon, March 20, at Carver Field as Augustana and Wisconsin-LaCrosse put pitching and defense in the forefront of a non-conference double header. The two teams split with the Vikings winning game one 1-0 in 10 innings and then the visiting Eagles took the nightcap 2-0.
 
Augustana is now 3-5 on the season while Wisconsin-LaCrosse is 2-4. Veteran head coach Kris Kistler's Vikings open College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin action on Sunday, March 21 in Chicago, Illinois with a double header against North Park. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
 
GAME 1 – Augustana 1, UW-LaCrosse 0 (10 innings)
It was overtime in the opening game of the double header and it wasn't until junior Ashley Dehmlow (McHenry West HS, Spring Grove, Ill.) drove in freshman pinch runner Olivia Blood (Riverside-Brookfield HS, North Riverside, Ill.) in the bottom of the 10^th that the game was decided.
 
Augustana senior Cecelia Peine (Holt HS, Wentzville, Mo.) and UW-LaCrosse starter Maddie Muelken hooked up in a dandy pitching matchup. Peine, who did not factor in the decision, left the game after nine innings. She scattered 10 hits and stranded eight Eagle runners while striking out six and not allowing a base-on-balls. Muelken was tagged with the loss but she worked 9 2/3 innings and allowed just seven hits with five strikeouts.
 
Muelken had the Viking bats stymied completely for the first 5 2/3 innings and it wasn't until junior Josie Smith (Wheaton St. Francis HS, Wheaton, Ill.) reached on a single that Augustana had its first hit of the game.
 
The teams were scoreless through nine innings when the NCAA's tiebreaker rule was put into play and each team started the 10^th inning with a runner on second base.
 
Peine gave way to freshman Nadia Ranieri (Riverside-Brookfield HS, North Riverside, Ill.) to start the top of the 10^th. With an Eagle on second base and no outs, Ranieri sandwiched a pair of strikeouts around a fly out to center field to get out of the inning unscathed.
 
In the bottom of the frame Kistler inserted Blood into the lineup to take the spot at second. After a strikeout, senior Jennifer Sears (Marist HS, New Lenox, Ill.) beat out an infield single with Blood staying at second. A fly ball to left made it two outs and left things up to Dehmlow who lifted a drive to left field, which fell, and Blood, who was running on contact, scored easily with the winning run.
 
GAME 2 – UW-LaCrosse 2, Augustana 0
In keeping with the theme of the day, game two was also scarce on runs as the Eagles tallied a pair of runs in the second and made those stand up for a 2-0 victory.
 
Ranieri, the winning pitcher in game one, was in the circle in game two and she ran into some tough luck in the third. She gave up a double to Sabrina Scardamaglia to lead off the inning. Scardamaglia moved to third on a ground out to second. She scored when UW-LaCrosse third baseman Jordyn McCormack hit a ground ball up the first base line. Augustana first baseman Ashlyn Mathers (Pomona HS, Westminster, Colo.) fielded the ball cleanly and went to tag McCormack, who evaded the tag and continued toward first. Mathers throw to second baseman Blood, who was covering, was ruled too late and Scardamaglia scampered home with the first run of the game and McCormack moved to second. McCormack then scored on a single by Kendra Leis for the second run of the inning.
 
That would be all the scoring in the game as the Vikings could only manage four hits off three UW-LaCrosse hurlers. Sydne Shattuck, who was the starter, got the win while Ranieri was hung with the loss for the Vikings.
 
The Vikings had a chance to get something going in the bottom of the fifth when Sears led off and reached by being hit by a pitch that just grazed her batting helmet. She gave way to pinch runner Josie Smith and Smith moved to second when senior Molly Wrenn (Geneva HS, Geneva, Ill.) grounded out to first base. Junior Nicole Nash (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) reached on a base-on-balls to put runners on first and second with just one out. Center fielder Sydney Ohrtmann (Freeport HS, Rockford, Ill.) reached on an infield error but the Eagles recovered the ball and threw out Smith at home and Nash at third for a bizarre inning-ending double play.
 
Late in the game the Eagles went to Elise Weinzierl in relief and all she did was strike out five of the six batters she faced to earn a save and preserve the victory.
 
 ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Runs were certainly at a premium on Saturday afternoon, March 20, at Carver Field as Augustana and Wisconsin-LaCrosse put pitching and defense in the forefront of a non-conference double header. The two teams split with the Vikings winning game one 1-0 in 10 innings and then the visiting Eagles took the nightcap 2-0.
 
Augustana is now 3-5 on the season while Wisconsin-LaCrosse is 2-4. Veteran head coach Kris Kistler's Vikings open College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin action on Sunday, March 21 in Chicago, Illinois with a double header against North Park. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
 
GAME 1 – Augustana 1, UW-LaCrosse 0 (10 innings)
It was overtime in the opening game of the double header and it wasn't until junior Ashley Dehmlow (McHenry West HS, Spring Grove, Ill.) drove in freshman pinch runner Olivia Blood (Riverside-Brookfield HS, North Riverside, Ill.) in the bottom of the 10^th that the game was decided.
 
Augustana senior Cecelia Peine (Holt HS, Wentzville, Mo.) and UW-LaCrosse starter Maddie Muelken hooked up in a dandy pitching matchup. Peine, who did not factor in the decision, left the game after nine innings. She scattered 10 hits and stranded eight Eagle runners while striking out six and not allowing a base-on-balls. Muelken was tagged with the loss but she worked 9 2/3 innings and allowed just seven hits with five strikeouts.
 
Muelken had the Viking bats stymied completely for the first 5 2/3 innings and it wasn't until junior Josie Smith (Wheaton St. Francis HS, Wheaton, Ill.) reached on a single that Augustana had its first hit of the game.
 
The teams were scoreless through nine innings when the NCAA's tiebreaker rule was put into play and each team started the 10^th inning with a runner on second base.
 
Peine gave way to freshman Nadia Ranieri (Riverside-Brookfield HS, North Riverside, Ill.) to start the top of the 10^th. With an Eagle on second base and no outs, Ranieri sandwiched a pair of strikeouts around a fly out to center field to get out of the inning unscathed.
 
In the bottom of the frame Kistler inserted Blood into the lineup to take the spot at second. After a strikeout, senior Jennifer Sears (Marist HS, New Lenox, Ill.) beat out an infield single with Blood staying at second. A fly ball to left made it two outs and left things up to Dehmlow who lifted a drive to left field, which fell, and Blood, who was running on contact, scored easily with the winning run.
 
GAME 2 – UW-LaCrosse 2, Augustana 0
In keeping with the theme of the day, game two was also scarce on runs as the Eagles tallied a pair of runs in the second and made those stand up for a 2-0 victory.
 
Ranieri, the winning pitcher in game one, was in the circle in game two and she ran into some tough luck in the third. She gave up a double to Sabrina Scardamaglia to lead off the inning. Scardamaglia moved to third on a ground out to second. She scored when UW-LaCrosse third baseman Jordyn McCormack hit a ground ball up the first base line. Augustana first baseman Ashlyn Mathers (Pomona HS, Westminster, Colo.) fielded the ball cleanly and went to tag McCormack, who evaded the tag and continued toward first. Mathers throw to second baseman Blood, who was covering, was ruled too late and Scardamaglia scampered home with the first run of the game and McCormack moved to second. McCormack then scored on a single by Kendra Leis for the second run of the inning.
 
That would be all the scoring in the game as the Vikings could only manage four hits off three UW-LaCrosse hurlers. Sydne Shattuck, who was the starter, got the win while Ranieri was hung with the loss for the Vikings.
 
The Vikings had a chance to get something going in the bottom of the fifth when Sears led off and reached by being hit by a pitch that just grazed her batting helmet. She gave way to pinch runner Josie Smith and Smith moved to second when senior Molly Wrenn (Geneva HS, Geneva, Ill.) grounded out to first base. Junior Nicole Nash (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) reached on a base-on-balls to put runners on first and second with just one out. Center fielder Sydney Ohrtmann (Freeport HS, Rockford, Ill.) reached on an infield error but the Eagles recovered the ball and threw out Smith at home and Nash at third for a bizarre inning-ending double play.
 
Late in the game the Eagles went to Elise Weinzierl in relief and all she did was strike out five of the six batters she faced to earn a save and preserve the victory.