ST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 11 Augustana softball capped-off an outstanding conference season with a sweep of Concordia-St. Paul (10-20, 16-37 NSIC) on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings hit five home runs in a 12-1 win in game one before winning game two 5-2 to finish the conference season 28-2.
 
Augustana's 28 wins is the most conference wins since joining the NSIC in 2008. The Vikings improved to 47-7 on the season and currently own the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA Central Region rankings.
 
Game one
Caitlin Nichol put on a power show to lead Augustana to a 12-1 win over the Golden Bears in game one. Nichol tied a single game record hitting three of Augustana's five home runs and finished the day 4 for 5 with a career-high three home runs and six RBI.
 
Nichol has now hit a team-high 20 home runs on the season, setting a new single season record at Augustana. Sarah Kennedy finished 2 for 4 with a two-run home run and Jordan Schaffer finished the day 2 for 4 with a solo home run.
 
Kylie Rome matched her season-high with three hits going 3 for 4 with two runs batted in.
 
Jenelle Trautmann (27-2) earned her 27th win of the season in the circle striking out eight batters while allowing just one run on three hits.
 
The Vikings grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after a leadoff home run by Nichol and quickly went ahead 7-0 scoring six runs in the top of the second.
 
Schaffer led off the second inning with her eighth home run of the season giving Augustana a 2-0 lead. Three batters later, Nichol blasted her second home run of the game with a line shot down the right field line to give her team a five-run cushion. Carley Pickett kept the inning alive with a single and Kennedy hit the second home run of the inning for the Vikings, a two-run shot to center, putting Augustana up 7-0.
 
Concordia-St. Paul scored its lone run of the game on a solo home run by Haley Schanks in the bottom of the second to make the score 7-1.
 
Augustana made it 8-1 in the fourth inning when Trautmann scored Nichol on a sacrifice fly. The Vikings got a hit in the fifth and sixth innings but were held off the scoreboard until the top of the seventh when they scored four runs on four hits to take a 12-1 lead.
 
Rome drove in two runs with an RBI single and Nichol hit her third home run of the game, a towering shot to center field, for her team-leading 20th home run that gave Augustana a double-digit cushion which it would hold on to for its 27th conference win of the season.
 
Game two
Augustana answered a two-run bottom of the fourth inning by Concordia-St. Paul that tied the game at 2-2 with a three-run top of the fifth to defeat the Golden Bears 5-2 in the nightcap.
 
Maddie Merriam and Caitlin Nichol each had two hits for Augustana in game two. Merriam came up with a clutch two-RBI single in the top of the fifth that allowed Augustana to take a three-run lead.
 
Carley Pickett kept the Golden Bears in check as she won her 16th game of the season, improving to 16-4, striking out seven batters in a complete-game victory.
 
Once again Augustana took an early lead on a home run when Kennedy hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the first to put the Vikings up 1-0.
 
The Vikings made it 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning when Rome sent a sacrifice fly to deep left field to score Maggie Kadrlik.
 
Concordia-St. Paul strung together three hits for two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2 but the Vikings responded with three runs on three hits in the fifth to regain the lead at 5-2.
 
The Vikings scored all three runs with two outs in the inning, starting with a two-RBI single by Merriam that scored Carly Peterson and Kaylea Schorr. Two batters later, Nichol drove a single through the right side of the infield to put Augustana in front 5-2.
 
Pickett made quick work of the Golden Bears in the bottom of the fifth and pitched around a single and a walk in the sixth and seventh innings to secure the win for Augustana.
 
Augustana won the NSIC regular season championship for the first time since 2011. Augustana has now won three NSIC titles after winning back-to-back conference championships in 2010 and 2011.
 
The Vikings will earn the No. 1 seed in the NSIC/US Bank Softball Tournament that will be played at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls April 30 through May 2.