Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Augustana used some late-inning dramatics and strong pitching to sweep a doubleheader from Upper Iowa by scores of 4-3 and 7-2 Wednesday afternoon at Bowden Field.
The 23rd-ranked Vikings improved to 22-5 on the season and 6-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference following their sixth-consecutive victory. Upper Iowa, meanwhile, slipped to 7-7 overall and 2-4 in the NSIC.
Upper Iowa seemed poised to spoil Augustana's home opener by taking a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. But the Vikings rallied to score 3 runs on 4 hits.
Chelsey Durland led off the inning with a single and advance to third on a double by
Brittany Coufal.
Taylor Kapsch followed with a 2-run single to tie the score 3-3 with nobody out. On the play, Kapsch advanced to second on the throw to the plate.
After Kapsch advanced to third on a popout by
Kayla Henke, Kapsch tried to score the winning run on a ground ball by
Jenny Brown. However, Kapsch was caught in a rundown and eventually retired, but not before Brown made it to second base.
Following a walk to
Elizabeth Murray,
Traci Fransen hit a pop fly between the third baseman and shortstop. The wind caught the ball at the last second and it fell between Karrie Coon and Katie Flood. Brown, who was running on contact, easily scored from second base.
The comeback made a winner out of starting pitcher
Ashley Meyer (8-2). Meyer scattered 9 hits and allowed 3 runs, although only 1 was earned.
Upper Iowa struck first with an unearned run in the first inning, buy Murray tied the score with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning. The Peacocks took a 2-1 lead in the sixth with another unearned run before scoring what seemed to be an insurance run in the top of the seventh.
Augustana did not need a comeback in the nightcap. Brown laced her first career home run, a 2-run shot, in the first inning to stake the Vikings to a 2-0 lead. After UIU tied the score in the top of the second, Augie regained the lead for good in its half of the inning. Coufal lined an RBI single that scored
Kelsey Kalkman, who led off the inning with a double.
The Vikings put the game out of reach with 4 runs in the fifth. Coufal, who had 3 hits in the game, blasted a 2-run homer to cap the inning and give Augustana a 7-2 advantage.
That was more than enough for
Britt Stewart (10-1). Stewart allowed 2 runs on 5 hits while fanning 9 Peacocks in picking up her fifth-straight win.
On the day, Coufal paced the Vikings by going 4-for-6 with 3 RBI and a run scored, while Fransen was 4-for-8.
Augustana continues its homestand on Thursday when the Vikings take on the University of Sioux Falls in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. at Bowden Field.
