ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings softball team split a pair of home games on Saturday against first-place Illinois Wesleyan, falling in game one by a score of 4-2 before winning the finale 3-1.

In game one, the Titans got on the board right away with a run in the top half of the first. On the run-scoring hit, Kennedy Williams threw out a runner at home from left field to limit the damage and keep the Titans' total at just one. Illinois Wesleyan added another in the third and two more in the fifth to extend its advantage out to four entering the seventh. 

With just one hit in the game, McKensey Stontz started a rally in the final frame with a single to the outfield fence, setting up a two-run home run by Claudia Buchholz to cut the deficit in half at 4-2. A hit batter followed, but the Titans successfully closed the door at its 4-2 final. 

The Vikings returned the favor in game two with a two-run win of their own, beginning with a two-spot in their opening at-bat. Buchholz continued her success at the plate on the day with a two-RBI double to make it a 2-0 lead for Augie after an inning of action. The Vikings added one more in the second on a run-scoring single by Nadia Ranieri. The Titans got one back in the fifth on a solo home run, but Lauren Koster kept the visitors off the scoreboard the rest of the way to seal the 3-1 victory. Koster earned her seventh win of the season after striking out two batters and allowing just the one run.

With the split, Augie sits at 23-13 on the season and 10-4 in the CCIW. The team will wrap up the regular season tomorrow at home with two games against Elmhurst.