ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Taking the diamond for the first time in the 2019 postseason, the No. 16 Augustana softball team took care of business with a 7-0 shutout win over Southwest Minnesota State. Augustana is now 48-8 overall, and lead the nation with 48 wins. SMSU, who stays alive in the double-elimination tournament, is 19-25.

Moments that mattered:

• Augustana totaled four doubles and 15 hits in the opening-round win, which is just three hits away from their season high (18, vs. Gannon).
• Kendall Cornick contributed three hits and scored a run for the Vikings.
• Samantha Eisenreich finished 2-3 with three RBI.
• Mary Pardo also had three RBI, including the games only home run.
• All three pitchers, Ashley Mickschl, Amber Elliott, and Olivia Wolters pitched two-plus innings in the shutout. They totaled eight strikeouts. 

Following a 90 minute delay for the first pitch, both sides came out quiet to start the game. Mickschl racked up three quick strikeouts, and after two complete, Augustana and SMSU were scoreless at 0-0.

The Vikings offense came to life in the third. Maggie Dunnett started off the inning with a double to left center, and following a Kara McDougall single, Mary Pardo continued her terrific freshman season with a two-run double to right center. 

Now leading 2-0, Mickschl helped her own cause with an RBI single to right field, scoring Pardo. Before the inning was over, two more singles and a Samantha Eisenreich two-RBI double staked the Vikings with a 5-0 advantage. 

Mickschl continued to pitch well into the third inning, allowing just one hit. Amber Elliott came into the game in the 4th, collecting two quick strikeouts. 

Pardo continued to show why she is the Freshman of the Year in the 4th, blasting a solo home run to right center. Pardo now has 14 home runs on the season, one the highest marks in school history for a freshman.

Eisenreich added her third RBI of the day on an RBI single through the right side, making it 7-0. Olivia Wolters pitched the final two innings for Augustana, allowing just one hit. 

Augustana now advances to the semifinals where they will take on Concordia-St. Paul on Friday at 12 p.m. The Vikings swept a pair of games (7-1, 10-1) from the Golden Bears earlier this season. 

All games of the NSIC Softball tournament are played at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minn.