BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings staved off elimination in their first game of the CCIW Tournament on Thursday, defeating the Carthage Firebirds in a win-or-go-home game by a score of 2-0. The Vikings will now enter the double elimination format of the tournament.

After a scoreless opening inning, Augie earned their first run of the game in the bottom of the second, using a two-out RBI single from Meghan Nixon to plate the first run. The Vikings' clutch hitting with two outs continued in the next inning as Claudia Buchholz brought in Morgan Bielfeldt all the way from first base, sending a double to the right-center fence to make it 2-0.

The score remained intact all the way through the end, with the Firebirds mustering just four hits across seven innings. Carthage posted two of their hits in the fourth and one in the fifth, but could not scratch anything across as Nadia Ranieri recorded outs on the final seven batters of the contest to wrap up the win. The newly-crowned CCIW Pitcher of the Year finished the game with 10 strikeouts and did not walk a batter. She improved to 14-3 on the year with the victory.

Buchholz led the Vikings with her 2-2 effort from the plate, while Nixon, Bielfeldt, and Olivia Blood each tallied a hit.

With the victory, Augustana improves to 21-18 on the season and will face No. 1 seeded Illinois Wesleyan later this afternoon at 4:30 p.m.