ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Augustana Vikings softball team was defeated in a pair of home games to close out their 2022 campaign, falling to the No. 23 ranked Millikin Big Blue on Senior Day by scores of 10-3 and 6-0.
Game One (L 10-3)
A sacrifice fly in the first and wild pitch in the second allowed the visitors to put up a run in each of the first two innings, but were quickly met in the bottom half of the second when
Ashley Dehmlow took a 3-1 pitch and sent it over the fence for a solo home run.
After cutting the deficit in half with the solo shot, the Vikings quickly tied it up in their next at-bat in the bottom of the third when
Erin Smith doubled to bring in
Nichole Nash.
The 2-2 score remained in tact all the way through five innings but the Big Blue broke it open in the sixth with eight runs to bring it to a 10-2 game. Millikin saw seven of their 12 hits in the sixth inning alone.
Augie avoided the run rule in the bottom half of the sixth as a
Morgan Bielfeldt brought them within seven. Neither team posted a run in the final frame and the Big Blue took game one by a score of 10-3.
Smith led the Vikings with two of the team's seven hits, finishing 2-3 at the plate with the RBI.
Game Two (L 6-0)
In the second half of the doubleheader, the Big Blue got on the scoreboard first in the third inning due to a Vikings error after a pair of scoreless frames to start it off. Millikin added to their lead in the fourth with a five-spot on just three hits to make it a 6-0 game. All three of their hits in game two came in the fourth inning.
The Vikings finished the contest with just two hits and were unable to muster a run as Millikin closed out the game with the 6-0 win. Augie put two runners in scoring position in the seventh, but could not cash either of them in for scores.
Nadia Ranieri and
Jennica Soliz accounted for the two hits for Augustana. Ranieri also went 2.1 scoreless innings in relief on the mound.
The Vikings end their season with an 18-17 record and 4-12 mark in the CCIW. It's the team's first winning season since the 2018 season.