ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Augustana rode strong pitching efforts from
Cecelia Peine (Holt HS, Wentzville, Mo.) and
Amanda Page (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) to a 4-2, 9-6 doubleheader sweep of Elmhurst Friday at Carver Field. The Vikings improved to 9-25 on the season and 6-20 in the CCIW, while the Bluejays dropped to 9-16 overall and 7-12 in the conference.
Coach
Kris Kistler's squad hosts Wheaton on Saturday, May 1 at 1:00 p.m.
AUGUSTANA 4, ELMHURST 2
In the opener, Augustana chipped away against Elmhurst starter Jena Hicks with single runs in the first and fourth innings.
Tristan Bautista (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) had a one-out single in the bottom of the first and scored on
Kaitlin Rusin's (Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.) infield hit. In the fourth,
Jannae Mehaffey (Cherry Creek HS, Englewood, Colo.) singled with two outs and
Jennifer Sears (Marist HS, New Lenox, Ill.) followed with an RBI double to make it 2-0.
Karly Krown relieved Hicks to start the fifth and the Vikings touched her for another run.
Olivia Blood (Riverside-Brookfield HS, North Riverside, Ill.) led off with a double to center and scored when
Nadia Ranieri (Riverside-Brookfield HS, North Riverside, Ill.) reached on a Bluejay error.
Peine blanked the visitors for five innings, but they got to her in the sixth. Four singles produced two runs before
Erin Smith (Columbine HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) entered and got the final two outs to preserve a 3-2 lead.
Josie Smith (St. Francis HS, Wheaton, Ill.) gave Erin and insurance run when she scored on an error in the bottom of the sixth and the lefty pitched around a one-out single in the top of the seventh to finish off the save.
Peine (2-8) scattered seven hits and allowed two runs to earn the win. She walked none and fanned five. Hicks (2-2) suffered the loss. The save was
Erin Smith's first of the season. Blood went 2-for-2 at the plate.
AUGUSTANA 9, ELMHURST 6
Kistler's club rallied from an early deficit in the nightcap to complete the sweep.
After Mehaffey drove in
Nichole Nash (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) with a single in the top of the first, Elmhurst tagged starter
Erin Smith for four runs in the bottom half. Jamie Haas had an RBI single and the last two runs were unearned.
Each team added a run in the third. Mehaffey followed
Claire Weeks' (Dundee-Crown HS, Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) two-out double with an RBI single in the top half and Filkowski led off the bottom half with a homer, knocking out Smith in favor of Page.
Ashley Dehmlow's (McHenry West HS, Spring Grove, Ill.) leadoff double keyed a two-run Augustana fourth and the Vikings took a 9-5 lead with five in the fifth. Weeks had a leadoff double and
Molly Wrenn (Geneva HS, Geneva Ill.) supplied the big hit—a three-run homer to right.
Page held the Bluejays hitless for four innings before giving up a single, a double and her only run in the seventh. However, she got Filkowski to ground to short to end the game.
Page gave up just two hits and a run in five innings of relief. She issued one walk, struck out eight and earned the win to move to 1-1 on the year. Elmhurst starter Brianna Pisauro (5-6) took the loss.
Wrenn finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three knocked in. Weeks and Mehaffey also had two hits apiece and Mehaffey had two RBI. Nash scored twice.
