Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
After dropping consecutive games for the first times since March 24, the Augustana softball team bounced back with an NSIC doubleheader sweep of Bemidji State, defeating the Beavers 3-1 and 9-0 on Saturday in Bemidji, Minn.
The Vikings improved to 21-19 on the season and 12-3 in the NSIC and moved into a tie for second place in the league standings with Wayne State. BSU, meanwhile slipped to 8-18 overall and 3-11 in the NSIC.
Augustana received strong pitching in both games of Saturday's twinbill. In the opener,
Chelsey Durland was perfect for 6 1/3 innings as she scattered 4 hits and held the Beavers scoreless until giving up a single run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Durland improved to 8-4 on the year. In the second game,
Kelly Ottis tossed a 7-hit shutout as she moved her record to 5-7.
Augustana made the most of 6 hits in the first game. The Vikings scored single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings to build a 3-0 lead.
Traci Fransen led off the second inning with a double. She then scored on a ground out by
Britt Stewart.
Stewart picked up her second RBI of the game in the fourth inning when she lined a single to score
Erika Wolner, who had singled and stole second base.
Augie made it 3-0 in the fifth when
Elizabeth Murray doubled to lead off the inning.
Kelsey Kalkman sacrificed her to third and
Taylor Kapsch lined a run-scoring single.
That was more than enough for Durland. Durland retired the first 16 hitters she faced before Bridget Smith broke up the perfect game with an infield single with 1 out in the sixth inning. Durland then got Jamie Ford to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Beavers then scored 1 run on 3 hits in the seventh to avoid the shutout.
Stewart was 1 of 6 Vikings to get a hit in the game. She paced the offense with 2 RBI.
Ottis was equally effective as she allowed only 2 runners to reach third base as she scattered 7 hits.
The Vikings got on the scoreboard in the first inning as
Kayla Henke led off the game with a single. Following a sacrifice by Wolner,
Ally Rutherford roped an RBI double to score Henke. Augustana broke open the game in the second with 4 runs, 2 of which were unearned. Wolner had the big hit in the inning with a 2-run single to help make the score 5-0.
The Vikings tacked on 2 more runs in the fourth on another RBI double by Rutherford and a sacrifice fly by Fransen. Kalkman added a 2-run single in the seventh to account for the rest of the Viking runs.
As a team, Augie racked up 11 hits with Wolner, Rutherford, Fransen and Kalman each collecting 2. Rutherford finished with 3 RBI, while Wolner, Fransen and Kalkman all had 2.
Augustana concludes its weekend road trip with a doubleheader at Minnesota Duluth on Sunday. First pitch is at noon.
