Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
The Augustana softball team split Wednesday's doubleheader with Winona State at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Vikings won the opener 9-2 while dropping the nightcap, their first conference loss of the season, 7-2.
The Vikings moved their record to 27-8 and 9-1 in the NSIC, and remained in first place by one game over Wayne State and Concordia. Winona State moved to 22-8 and 8-4 in the league.
The winners of each game were successful at getting ahead early in the count and making quick work of the opponent, thus keeping their pitch count much lower than the opponent's.
In the first game,
Ashley Meyer picked up her 10th win of the season (10-3), giving up one earned run on six hits while striking out five. She threw 106 pitches in seven innings of work, much fewer than the 140 the two Winona State pitchers combined for in six innings.
The top portion of the order did the damage offensively for the Vikings, as the top four hitters logged six of the Vikings' seven hits.
Traci Fransen went 3-for-3, driving in three runs. Her first inning home run gave Augie an early 2-0 advantage that it would not relinquish.
Jenny Brown doubled in two runs in the fourth to increase the Viking lead to 5-1 and scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.
Kayla Henke added a solo home run, and the Vikings won their ninth straight conference game 9-2.
In the second contest, Alex Chichila found the strike zone early, as she picked up her sixth win of the season (6-2). She threw 87 pitches to the 117 of the combined effort of
Britt Stewart and Chelsea Durland. Stewart picked up the loss in three innings of work, giving up three earned runs on five hits and striking out four.
Henke and Fransen each went 2-for-3, and each drove in a run to account for all of Augie's RBIs. Henke's second inning single drove home
Kelsey Kalkman to cut the deficit to 3-1, but Winona State's two 3-run innings proved to be too much as the Warriors won the nightcap 7-2.
The Vikings head north for the weekend for a pair of conference doubleheaders. On Saturday, in they take on Northern State in Aberdeen, with the first game slated to begin at noon. On Sunday, they travel to Bismarck, N.D., to take on the University of Mary, with the first game again slated to begin at noon.
