Augustana University Athletics

BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 13 Augustana College softball (31-8, 14-4 NSIC) swept St. Cloud State (8-20-1, 2-9-1 NSIC) in an NSIC doubleheader on Saturday afternoon winning game one 10-0 before using a six-run fourth inning to down the Huskies 7-1 in game two.

This marks the sixth straight 30-win season for the Vikings, all under the direction of eighth-year head coach Gretta Melsted.

Game one

Augustana jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 10-0 game one win over St. Cloud State on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings got a five-run second inning and a four-run fourth inning on its way to its 30th win of the season.
 
This marks the sixth straight 30-win season all under the direction of eighth-year head coach Gretta Melsted.
 
The Vikings scored 10 runs on 11 hits while Caitlin Nichol finished with a career-high four hits going 4 for 4 with a double and a home run. Jenelle Trautmann hit her sixth home run of the season to give her 42 for her career and bringing her within one of tying the career record at Augustana.
 
Trautmann also picked up her 20th win of the season while improving to 20-3 marking three straight seasons of 20-plus wins in the circle for the junior.
 
Nichol gave the Vikings a jump start with a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning to give her team a 1-0 lead. After a quick bottom half of the first inning, Augustana poured on five runs on two hits in the top of the second to go up 6-0 over the Huskies.
 
Augustana got an RBI double from Nichol and a sacrifice fly from Sarah Kennedy in the inning.
 
St. Cloud State picked up its only hit of the game with a leadoff single in the bottom of the second inning and the Vikings struck for four more in the top of the fourth to lead 10-0.
 
Maddie Merriam led off the top of the fourth with a walk and Nichol followed with a single before Mackenzie Alstott moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Kennedy then stepped to the plate and blasted a three-run shot for her third home run of the season. Trautmann followed with a longball of her own putting the Vikings up by 10.
 
Karlee Koopman came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth for the Vikings and got two ground ball outs and a strikeout to finish off the game.

Game two

Trautmann led the Vikings at the plate going 3 for 4 with two RBI and Mackenzie Alstott finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.
 
Carley Pickett earned her ninth win of the season, improving to 9-4, going five strong innings allowing just one run on four hits. Pickett struck out four batters and did not walk a batter in the win.
 
St. Cloud State started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Jessica Goerger scoring Tricia DeBoer who led off the inning with a double.
 
Augustana answered right back to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the second inning when Alstott beat out an infield single to score Jordan Schaffer who started the rally with a two out walk.
 
After a scoreless third inning, Augustana broke through in the top of the fourth inning with six runs on eight hits to take a 7-1 lead.
 
Merriam and Nichol got back-to-back singles to start the inning fourth for the Vikings and Abby Chandler, who pinch ran for Merriam, scored the inning's first run as the Huskies threw the ball around on Nichol's single. Later in the inning, the Vikings got a two-RBI single from Trautmann and Schaffer to extend the inning and give the Vikings a big cushion.
 
 Augustana returns to action this Tuesday hosting Southwest Minnesota State in a doubleheader at Bowden Field starting at 3 p.m.