ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 20 Augustana University softball (8-8) split a pair of games on the final day of the Kelly Laas Memorial Invite in St. Cloud on Sunday morning. The Vikings dropped a 7-6 decision in the first game of the day to Emporia State before closing-out the five-game trip with a 3-1 win over 16th-ranked Missouri Western.

Game one
Augustana held a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning but three straight ESU hits and a Viking error allowed the Hornets to tie the game. Jacie Stephens then drove in the game-winning run with a single to right field to give ESU a 7-6 win.
 
Augustana and Emporia State combined for 13 runs and 21 hits but five costly errors hurt the Vikings.
 
The Vikings had seven extra-base hits in the game getting six doubles and a home run. Carley Pickett was 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Shannon Petersen finished 2 for 3 with a double and Maggie Kadrlik added a double and a home run finishing the game 2 for 3 with two RBI.
 
Carley Pickett tossed all six innings for the Vikings finishing with a season-high nine strikeouts while allowing just four earned runs.
 
The Vikings grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a leadoff home run by Kadrlik, her second homer of the year.
 
Emporia State was able to push across three runs on two hits and three Augustana errors in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-1 lead but the Vikings answered right back putting up four runs on six hits in the top of the fourth.
 
Pickett doubled to center to start the inning and the Vikings quickly got two runners on when Shannon Petersen was hit by a pitch. Three pitches later, Kadrlik doubled to drive in Pickett to make the score 3-2 and Kylie Rome followed with a two-RBI double to give the Vikings a 4-3 lead. The Vikings pushed the lead to 5-3 on an RBI double by Maddie Merriam.
 
After a scoreless fifth, Emporia State made it a one-run game at 5-4 after Stephens drove in Cassidy Berry who led off the inning with a double.
 
Augustana got a run back in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Sarah Kennedy and the Vikings took a 6-4 lead. The Hornets were able to push across three runs on five hits and one Augustana error in the seventh to get the walk-off 7-6 victory over the Vikings.

 
Game two
The Vikings picked up a big win over 16th-ranked Missouri Western to close-out the trip at the Kelly Laas Memorial Invite. Augustana got the offense going finishing with 10 hits and got a great combined pitching performance from Karlee Koopman and Carley Pickett.
 
Koopman earned the win in the circle to improve to 4-3 on the season allowing just one unearned run on four hits. Pickett came in to pitch the final three innings and made history earning her 18th career save to tie the all-time saves record at Augustana. Pickett is now tied for first all-time in program history with Chelsey Durland who recorded 18 saves from 2009-12.
 
Pickett struck out three batters and allowed just two hits in three innings of work.
 
Shannon Petersen had herself a day at the plate against the Griffons finishing 3 for 3 with a double and a home run while driving in two runs. Carly Peterson was 2 for 4 at the plate and Sarah Kennedy finished 2 for 2 with a double.
 
The Vikings struck first in the bottom of the first inning taking a 2-0 lead on Petersen's team-leading fourth home run of the season that drove in Carly Peterson who led off the inning with a single.
 
The Griffons cut Augustana's lead in half scoring an unearned run in the top of the third to make it a 2-1 game. Following the run, Missouri Western was able to load the bases but Koopman worked her way out of the jam getting a ground out to end the inning and keep the Griffons from doing any further damage.
 
Petersen picked up her second hit of the day with a leadoff single in the bottom of the third but the Vikings lined into a double play to end the inning and leave a runner on.
 
Augustana stretched its lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning after Pickett and Petersen delivered back-to-back doubles to start things off. Koopman drove in a run when she grounded out to first base to give her reliever Pickett a two-run cushion headed to the sixth inning.
 
Pickett was able to shut down the Griffons in the final two innings allowing just one base runner on no hits in the sixth and seventh to earn her 18th career save.
 
Augustana will return to action March 18- 20 at the Missouri Western Tournament in St. Joseph, Mo.