PEORIA, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings softball team closed out its trip to the Blue Angel Invite on Friday with wins over the Edgewood Eagles and Knox Prairie Fire. Augie defeated Edgewood in walk-off fashion by a score of 6-5 before taking down Knox with a final of 14-6. The Vikings are now 4-0 for the first time since the 2015 season.

In game one vs. Edgewood, an RBI groundout in the bottom of the first from Aubrey Gradin was the only scoring that took place in the opening inning. The Eagles answered in the top half of the second with a pair of runs to move out in front, but the Vikings earned those two back in the bottom of the third to claim a 3-2 advantage after three innings. A leadoff walk to Emma Schmidt came in to score on a batted ball by Alexis Duke before Gradin sent a single to center for the go-ahead run.

Another pair of runs followed in the top of the fourth to shift the lead back over to the Eagles at 4-3. In the bottom half, Teagan Nees began the frame with a double and later came into score to knot the contest at four runs apiece. The two teams played through a scoreless fifth and sixth inning, but a pair of two-out hits with nobody on sent Edgewood back into the lead in the top of the seventh. It took just three batters for the Vikings in the bottom of the inning to not only tie the game, but win it, as a hit batter and McKensey Stontz double quickly evened the score. Alaina Diaz connected on a walk-off hit in the following at-bat to seal the 6-5 victory for Augie.

Stontz and Gradin both collected multi-hit games in the win for Augustana, while Lauren Koster earned her second win on the mound after pitching all seven innings and striking out five.

In game two vs. Knox, the Vikings scored in all but one inning, beginning with one in the first before registering a hit. Marley Behm began the game with a walk, steal, and advance to third on a groundout before crossing home on passed ball to give Augie a 1-0 lead after one inning of play. Behm then secured a RBI single in the second with two outs to double the margin for the Vikings.

Augie opened the game up with three runs in the third. Roselyn Marmolejo began the outburst with a run-scoring double before a base hit up the middle from Emily Gad made it a 4-0 lead. Gad later came into score on a ball that got away from the catcher. The Vikings pushed the gap to double figures in the ensuing inning, this time posting a six-spot to bring the advantage out to 11-0. Hailey Pedersen brought in the first tally of the frame with a single, followed up by Marmolejo's two-RBI hit through the right side. Allison Roessler continued the onslaught for Augustana with a two-run triple later in the inning and Lilli Burton capped off the six-run spurt with a run-scoring single of her own. Knox avoided the early run rule decision with six runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the game.

Augustana added one more run in the sixth on a Maya Viel infield single and two in the seventh thanks to a two-RBI triple from Gad. Jordan Faust closed down the game on the mound to earn her first collegiate victory pitching. 

As a team, the Vikings racked up 21 hits and were led by a 4-4 effort from Viel and three hits by Gad. 

With the wins, the Vikings are 4-0 on the year for the first time in 10 years. The team will have approximately one month off before taking on Cumberland in Tennessee.