ST. PAUL, Minn. – Augustana University softball swept Concordia-St. Paul (10-17, 2-4 NSIC) on Sunday to improve to 19-9 on the season, including 4-2 in NSIC play. The Vikings won the opener 7-1 before clawing back to defeat the Golden Bears 11-7 in game two.
 
Augustana hit three home runs in game two and finished the game with a season-high 18 hits. In the opener, Lexy Pederson struck out seven and held the Golden Bears to just one run on four hits.
 
Game one
Augustana scored seven runs on 10 hits to pick up a 7-1 win over Concordia-St. Paul in game one of Sunday's doubleheader at Carlander Field in St. Paul. Sarah Kennedy led the Vikings at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a double and one RBI.
 
Shannon Petersen finished 2 for 3 with a home run and two runs scored while Kylie Rome added a pair of hits and two RBI.
 
Lexy Pederson (10-4) earned her 10th victory of the season with the complete-game performance. Pederson entered the seventh inning with a one-hit shutout going, before the Golden Bears hit a solo home run to start the inning. Pederson struck out seven batters in the win.
 
The Vikings opened up a 7-0 lead, before surrendering a run in the bottom of the seventh. Augustana took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on an RBI single by Maggie Dunnett. Petersen led off the fourth inning with a solo shot to left center, her fourth home run of the year, to extend Augustana's lead to 2-0.
 
Augustana got a pair of doubles in the top of the fifth, including an RBI double from Kennedy, to add another run and go in front 3-0. The Vikings then scored two in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead after Kara McDougall reached on a fielder's choice that pushed two runs across the plate.
 
Kylie Rome delivered a two-RBI single with two outs in the seventh inning helping Augustana extend its lead to 7-0. Pederson entered the seventh inning in the circle allowing just one hit before the Golden Bears got a leadoff solo home run from Liz Jarosz to make the score 7-1. CSP was able to load the bases but Pederson closed the door without any further damage to secure the victory in the first game of the doubleheader.
 
Game two
Concordia-St. Paul scored five runs in the first two innings but Augustana put up 11 runs in the final four to earn an 11-7 win in game two. The Vikings finished with five extra-base hits in the game, including three home runs.
 
Sarah Kennedy was 2 for 3 with a home run, a double and one RBI. Shannon Petersen belted her fifth home run of the season, and second of the day, finishing 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored. Kara McDougall was 3 for 4 with three singles and Maggie Dunnett finished 2 for 4 with a home run, a triple and a career-high tying four RBI.
 
Dunnett also earned the win in the circle for the Vikings to improve to 2-1 on the year. Dunnett tossed 6.2 innings, striking out three while allowing three runs on seven hits.
 
The Vikings left the bases loaded in the top of the first inning after a leadoff double by Kaylea Schorr, a walk by Kennedy and an infield single by Christina Pickett. Augustana was unable to get a run across and the Golden Bears answered by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first to grab a 4-0 lead. CSP pushed across another run in the bottom of the second to extend its lead to 5-0.
 
After a scoreless third, Kylie Rome started off the fourth with a single. Two batters later McDougall singled to put two runners on. Samantha Eisenreich drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single to get the Vikings within three at 5-2.
 
Kennedy started out a five-run fifth inning for the Vikings with a double and Petersen brought her in with a two-run home run to left center to make the score 5-4. Abby Chandler and McDougall reached with a pair of singles and Dunnett helped her own cause with a triple to right center to drive in two and give her team a 6-5 lead. Dunnett later scored on a wild pitch to put Augustana in front 7-5.
 
Dunnett set the Golden Bears down in order in the fifth and the Viking offense responded quickly when Kennedy blasted a solo shot over the fence in center for an 8-5 lead. Christina Pickett scored later in the inning when Petersen was thrown out trying to swipe second and Augustana led by four at 9-5.
 
Dunnett pitched around a leadoff double in the sixth and helped her own cause once again, hitting a two-run home run to center field to extend Augustana's lead to 11-5. The Golden Bears were able to put up two more runs in the bottom of the seventh but Dunnett was able to get out of the jam to help her team earn the sweep.
 
Augustana opens a six-game homestand on Tuesday, April 4, hosting Upper Iowa in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. at Bowden Field.