ELMHURST, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings softball team picked up a pair of road wins on Saturday, defeating the Elmhurst Bluejays by scores of 3-0 (8 inn.) and 4-3.
Game One
Neither team could muster have any offense early on in the opening game, with Augie going without a hit until
Meghan Nixon's double in the third inning. The Bluejays opened the game with a hit in their first at-bat, but the teams remained scoreless as the game moved on. Elmhurst and Augustana each tallied just two hits through seven innings and the 0-0 score forced extra innings.
After a lengthy weather delay, Augustana's offense woke up in the top of the eighth. Nixon got things going with a leadoff walk, later advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs and Nixon still at second,
Jennica Soliz broke the tie with an RBI single to make it 1-0 in favor of the Vikings. The team added onto their advantage with back-to-back run-producing singles from
Nadia Ranieri and
Emily Gad to bring the score to 3-0 entering the bottom half of the frame.
Elmhurst tallied half of their hit total for the game in the ensuing at-bat, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Ranieri struck out the next batter looking, making it her third of the inning and 15th for the game. It is the fourth time this season she has racked up double-digit strikeouts on the mound and the second time in her last three appearances that she has had at least 14. She allowed just four hits in game one in eight innings of work.
Game Two
Another pitcher's duel followed in the day's second game, with both teams going without a run through the first four innings of action. Elmhurst struck first in the fifth, tallying one run on two hits to go up 1-0. Augustana answered with their first score in the bottom half, evening the game at one run apiece on a two-out home run from Ranieri.
A busy sixth inning ensued, with the Bluejays reclaiming the lead with a two-run frame.
Claudia Buchholz began the next Augie at-bat with a leadoff double, followed by a single from
Ashlyn Mathers to put runners on the corners. Elmhurst retired the next two hitters, but
Marley Behm came through in the clutch with a single down the right field line to score both Buchholz and Mathers on the play. Soliz answered with an RBI single to give Augustana a 4-3 lead entering the seventh.
Starting pitcher
Lauren Koster shut the Bluejays down in order in the top of the seventh to earn to her fourth win of the season. She finished her complete game with three strikeouts. Augustana out-hit Elmhurst 10-8 in game two, led by a 3-3 effort from Buchholz. Soliz and
Morgan Bielfeldt also posted multi-hit performances.
With the wins, Augustana improves to 13-13 on the season and 4-4 in conference contests. The Vikings will return home for their next scheduled outing on Wednesday, April 19 when they host the UW-Platteville Pioneers for their final non-conference doubleheader. Start time of game one is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Carver Field.
