Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
The Augustana softball team split their final regular season home games with Minnesota State (MSU) Wednesday at Bowden Field. Augie defeated MSU 7-2 in the opener and dropped a 7-4 13-inning contest in the nightcap.
Augie's record now stands at 38-9 and 20-2 in the Northern Sun while Minnesota State is now 30-10 and 16-6 in the league.
In the opener, the Vikings got to work early, scoring a run in each of the first two innings.
Elizabeth Murray doubled home
Jenny Brown in the first and
Brittany Coufal doubled home
Kelsey Kalkman.
MSU put up a two-spot of its own in the top of the fifth, when Abby Morris hit a two-run home run to tie the game 2-2.
However, the Vikings turned up the heat in the bottom of the sixth as they took advantage of two MSU errors to swell the lead to 7-2. Coufal doubled to right to score pinch runner
Shelby Thompson, and following
Taylor Kapsch reaching on a fielder's choice,
Kayla Henke hit a ball to MSU's first baseman, Natalie Spicer. Spicer threw home, but MSU catcher Kelsey Thompson could not hang on to the ball as Chelsea Winskowski crossed the plate. Thinking she could throw out Kapsch at third, Thompson threw to Libble Reichling, the MSU shortstop covering third, who could not hang on and Kapsch took advantage, scoring on the play. Brown singled home Henke, and
Traci Fransen hit a sacrifice fly to score Brown to complete the barrage.
Ashley Meyer improved her record to 16-3, scattering five hits in seven innings while striking out three. Kendra Huettl took the loss for MSU.
In the second game, the Vikings again started hot, posting a 3-1 lead after three innings. But MSU chipped away. In the fourth, Katie Kruse hit a solo home run to cut the deficit to one and tied the score in the top of the sixth with an RBI double.
After seven innings, the score was still tied at 3-3, and the teams went into extra innings. Thompson homered in the top of the eighth for MSU, but Augie was able to tie in the bottom half when Winskoski scored on an error.
Four more scoreless innings passed before Thompson and Kruse homered in the top of the 13th to score three runs. Augie could not answer in the bottom of the inning as MSU handed the Vikings their second conference loss.
Chelsey Durland took the loss for the Vikings, going 13 innings of work. She gave up five runs on 13 hits and struck out six MSU batters.
The Vikings continue their run for their first NSIC championship. With a two-game lead over Concordia and Winona State, the Vikings can clinch their first conference championship by winning three of their remaining four games, all of which are on the road. On Saturday, Augustana faces St. Cloud State in a doubleheader in St. Cloud, Minn. On Sunday, the Vikings travel to St. Paul, Minn., to face Concordia in the final games of the season.
