BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings dropped a road doubleheader to the No. 22 ranked Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Wednesday, falling in game one by a score of 5-4 before losing the finale 12-1. 

In game one, the first six Vikings reached base in an explosive opening inning that saw four runs cross home plate. Two straight singles by Alexis Duke and McKensey Stontz put a pair on and was followed by a fielding error to load the bases. Aubrey Gradin belted a grand slam over the fence during the next at-bat to make it a 4-0 game. The Titans followed with a solo shot in the bottom half to get within three.

The home team continued to chip away at the differential, pushing two across in the third and sending in the equalizer in the fifth. An error by Augie in the bottom of the sixth extended the inning and resulted in an RBI single from the Titans for the go-ahead run. The Vikings saw a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but were unable to pull even. 

Gradin and Emma Evans each had multi-hit efforts for Augustana in game one.

The Vikings struck first in game two in their first at-bat, beginning with a Duke double before she came in to score on an RBI hit from Alaina Diaz. Illinois Wesleyan put up up two in each of the second and third for the 4-1 advantage before moving it to run rule territory with an eight-run frame in the sixth.

With the losses, Augie drops to 24-12 overall and finishes the CCIW regular season with a 12-4 mark, good for the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament next week. The Vikings will close out the regular season at home tomorrow vs. Grinnell.