MANKATO, Minn. – No. 11 Augusatna softball clinched the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season championship with a sweep over Minnesota State on Saturday afternoon in Mankato, Minn. Jenelle Trautmann became Augustana's all-time career leader in strikeouts after striking out 13 in a 2-0 win in game one.
 
Sarah Kennedy added to the list of milestones this afternoon setting the single season record at Augustana with her 24th double of the season in a 3-0 win in game two.
 
Augustana, ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Central Region rankings, improved to 45-7 (26-2 NSIC) with the sweep. Minnesota State dropped to 36-18, including 19-7 in conference play.
 
Game one
Trautmann was dealing in the opener for the Vikings in the opener as she struck out 13 batters and allowed just five hits in a complete-game shutout of the Mavericks. Trautmann entered today's game needing just eight strikeouts to break the all-time record at Augustana and she did it in just four innings getting two strikeouts in each of the first four innings of the day.
 
She squared-off against the NSIC's other top strikeout pitcher in Minnesota State's Coley Ries and Trautmann (26-2) came out victorious for her 26th win of the season. Ries held Augustana to two runs on four hits but Trautmann kept the Mavericks off the board.
 
Augustana took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the opener scoring on an RBI single by Jordan Schaffer. Augustana loaded the bases with two outs when Carly Peterson was hit by a pitch to join Carley Pickett and Kennedy on the bases. Pickett reached on a one out single and Kennedy followed with a walk. Schaffer then sent a 1-0 pitch on a line to left field to score Pickett and give Augustana an early lead.
 
Minnesota State threatened in the bottom of the first getting back-to-back one-out singles but Trautmann got a strikeout and a pop out to end the threat.
 
Trautmann and Ries both dialed in over the next three innings as neither team was able to string together more than one base runner until Kennedy belted a solo home run with one out in the fifth, her 14th of the season, to put Augustana up 2-0.
 
The Mavericks strung together back-to-back one-out singles in the bottom of the seventh but Trautmann got MSU leadoff hitter Tatum Klein to pop into a double play to put the game on ice.
 
Game two
Augustana and Minnesota State combined for 21 hits in the nightcap and the Vikings spread three runs over three innings to walk away with a 3-0 win.
 
Augustana left 11 runners on base and Minnesota State left on 10. Trautmann picked up three hits in game two going 3 for 4 with three singles and an RBI. Kennedy extended her hitting streak to eight games in game two and hit her record-setting 24th double of the season driving in a run in the third.
 
Carley Pickett earned the complete-game shutout victory for the Vikings striking out three batters while picking up her 15th win of the season.
 
Augustana's defense came up with some big plays all afternoon long, including a couple well-timed double plays. In the second inning of game two, Pickett got Samantha Bugmann to pop into a double play to thwart a leadoff single.
 
Augustana broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning on a two-out RBI double to right center by Kennedy. Kennedy's double marked the 24th of the season which breaks the single season record of 23 set by Jenny Hill in 2000.
 
The Vikings extended their lead to 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI single by Trautmann that scored Caitlin Nichol who singled earlier in the inning.  Augustana would end up leaving the bases loaded in the fifth inning and once again in the top of the seventh after taking a 3-0 lead.
 
Maggie Kadrlik drove in Augustana's third run of the game with a bases loaded single to right field in the seventh.
 
Minnesota State looked to make a push in the bottom of the seventh inning but another big defensive play stopped Alyssa Rickels from turning a leadoff double into a triple. Rickels ripped a ball to the gap in left center but Peterson got there quickly and hit Kennedy for the relay to Nichol to get Rickels out at third for the first out of the inning.
 
The Mavericks got two more hits in the seventh but would Pickett would strand runners on second and third to help Augustana secure its first NSIC championship since 2011.
 
Augustana has now won three regular season NSIC titles, after winning back-to-back championships in 2010 and 2011.
 
Augustana will close-out the regular season tomorrow afternoon taking on Concordia-St. Paul in a doubleheader at 12 p.m. in St. Paul, Minn.