LEBANON, Tenn. -- The Augustana Vikings softball team dropped a pair of games on the road on Monday, falling in game one to the Cumberland Phoenix by a score of 2-1 before dropping the finale by a score of 11-5.

In game one, a leadoff single for the Phoenix came in to score to give the home team an early advantage against pitcher Nadia Ranieri. Ranieri retired the side in the second and third innings, but Cumberland added an insurance run in the fourth after cashing in on a triple to begin the frame. 

Augie cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth with a one-out home run from McKensey Stontz. The Vikings put leadoff base runners in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but were unable to push across the equalizing run as the Phoenix held on for the 2-1 victory. Ranieri finished the game with 11 strikeouts on the mound, while six different players tallied a hit. Ranieri notched the lone extra-base hit in the game with her double in the third.

After two innings of scoreless play to begin game two, Cumberland capitalized on a couple of defensive miscues by the Vikings to bring in four runs in the third. Another big inning followed as five more came into score to push the Phoenix lead to 9-0. Augustana responded with a four-spot in the fifth, beginning with a Kennedy Williams RBI single before she scored on a Cumberland error. Ashlyn Mathers followed with a two-run home run to cut the deficit to five. Meghan Nixon inched the Vikings closer with a run-scoring hit in the sixth, but the Phoenix added two onto their total in the bottom half to seal the 11-5 win.

Ranieri and Mathers led the team with two hits apiece.

With the losses, Augustana drops to 6-6 on the season. The team will be back in action on Wednesday for a doubleheader at Sewanee.