ROCK ISLAND -- Nadia Ranieri hit a two-run walk-off home run to lift the Augustana Vikings softball team to a game one win over Wheaton on Saturday, the first of two wins over the visiting Thunder.

Game One (W 4-2)

Jennica Soliz began the first Augustana at-bat with a leadoff single, coming around to score via two bunts and a sacrifice fly from Claudia Buchholz to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Wheaton claimed their first and only lead of the game in the third, sending a two-run shot over the fence. The Thunder held their 2-1 advantage through two Augustana at-bats, but the Vikings evened the score in the bottom of the fifth. Back-to-back singles from Kennedy Williams and Soliz began the frame, with Williams eventually touching home plate thanks to a sac fly from Morgan Bielfeldt.

After a scoreless sixth, the Vikings worked around a Wheaton runner on third to keep the game at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Williams began the at-bat with a leadoff single, but remained there after the Thunder tallied the first out. Ranieri ended the game during the next at-bat, sending one over the left-center fence to win it for the Vikings by a score of 4-2.

The Vikings out-hit the Thunder 7-5 in game one, led by two hits apiece from Ranieri, Soliz, and Williams. Ranieri went the distance on the mound to earn her 13th win, striking out seven in the process.

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Game Two (W 6-5)

Augie jumped out with six runs over the course of the first three innings, beginning with one in the first on an RBI infield single from Buchholz. The Vikings saw their biggest offensive output of the day in the second, plating three to push their lead to 4-0. With two outs and a runner on first, Augustana added another on the base pads via a Wheaton error before stringing together consecutive run-producing hits. Ranieri jump-started the surge with a two-run double, coming in to score on a Bielfeldt single the next play. 

The third inning was busy on offense for both teams. The Vikings began the top half with two additional tallies as Williams connected on a two-out, two-run single to make it 6-0. Wheaton came back with a big inning of their own, pushing across five runs on five hits to trim the differential to one. Still threatening in the inning, the Vikings got out of a no-out jam with a runner on second to maintain their lead.

Lauren Koster settled down on the mound after the third, allowing just one hit the rest of the way as the Vikings held on for the one-run win. The Thunder saw a base runner in both the sixth and seven innings, but could not find the equaling score.

Each team had nine hits in game two, with the Vikings led by two-hit efforts from both Ranieri and Bielfeldt. Koster struck out three and secured her seventh win of the season. 

With the wins, the Vikings move to 20-16 on the season and 9-5 in the CCIW. The victories also clinch a CCIW Tournament berth. The team will wrap up their regular season on Saturday, May 6 when they visit the first-place Illinois Wesleyan Titans for a doubleheader. Start time for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Bloomington, Ill.