ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings softball team earned a pair of wins over the Buena Vista Beavers on Saturday, winning game one in five innings by a score of 12-0 before taking the finale by a score of 5-1.

Augie erupted for a four-spot in the opening inning, beginning with a pair of runs on sacrifice flies from Claudia Buchholz and Ashlyn Mathers. After a walk, Morgan Bielfeldt drilled a home run over the center field fence to make it 4-0 after one inning of play. 

The Vikings had another scoring outburst two innings later, plating eight to run away with the game for good. Augie benefited from seven hits and two errors from Buena Vista in the frame, seeing RBI hits from Buchholz, Bielfeldt, Emily Gad, and Olivia Blood before an out was recorded. Nadia Ranieri register a two-run single to push the lead to 11-0, followed up by Buchholz' second RBI base hit of the inning moments later to cap off the eight-run spurt. The 12-0 score remained intact as Augie won by run rule after five innings.

Ranieri earned the win on the mound after allowing just three hits and none through the final three innings. She finished with seven strikeouts and zero walks in four innings. Three different Vikings had multiple hits in the win. Bielfeldt, Ranieri, and Buchholz all registered two apiece while bringing in two or more runs as well.

In game two, Augustana used another big first inning to open up a 3-0 lead early on. Brooke Hartzell got the Vikings on the board with a two-run double down the left field line before an Emma Evans single brought in the third run. Augie's advantage stretched to 4-0 in the second inning after an error from the Beavers brought in another score.

Buena Vista earned its first run of the day in the fourth to cut the margin to three, but Bielfeldt continued her hot day at the plate with a run-scoring single in the sixth to earn it back. Ranieri closed out the seventh with a pair of strikeouts on the mound to seal the 5-1 victory.

Lauren Koster notched her first win pitching this season, going six innings with three strikeouts. Ranieri and Kennedy Williams each grabbed two hits each to lead the team offensively. 

With the wins, Augustana improves to 5-3 on the season. The team will remain home for their next games on Wednesday when they host North Central for the CCIW opener.