DULUTH, Minn. – The Augustana softball team swept Minnesota Duluth Saturday afternoon to improve to 17-3 on the year. The second-ranked Vikings took game one 9-2 while claiming game two 8-0 in five innings.
The Vikings improve their NSIC record to 5-1 while UMD falls to 14-6 on the season and 4-2 in the NSIC.
Over the two games,
Mary Pardo went 4-for-6 with three home runs, seven RBI and five runs scored.
Amber Elliott saw seven innings in the circle, giving up just three hits while Elliott and
Ashley Mickschl combined to hold UMD to just seven hits over the 12 innings played Saturday.
Game One: No. 2 Augustana 9, Minnesota Duluth 2
From the first inning until the final pitch, the Vikings were in control in the 9-2 victory. In the opening frame,
Mary Pardo drew a lead-off walk and was pushed to third on an
Ashley Mickschl double. The next hitter,
Torri Chute, doubled into left-center field giving AU a 2-0 lead.
After quiet innings in the second and third,
Abby Lien carried her fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning over the right-center field fence, also scoring Chute, for the 4-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Bulldogs broke up the perfect game Mickschl was twirling and eventually pushed a run across the plate on a single from Jordyn Thomas. However, that was the only damage done as the Vikings then answered with two more runs in the fifth inning.
First, Chute had a sacrifice fly scoring
Abbie Lund. The next hitter, Lien, singled into right field scoring Pardo.
Minnesota Duluth was able to push just one more run across home plate on a single in the fifth inning. Much like the previous time UMD scored, the Vikings answered right back to create more separation. This time, it came courtesy of Pardo who launched a home run over the center-field fence scoring three runs and a commanding 9-2 lead.
Over the final two innings,
Amber Elliott, who came on in relief, shutdown the Bulldogs 1-2-3 in each inning to secure the 9-2 win.
Mickschl finished the day giving up just four hits, striking out four and walking none in five innings to earn her eighth win of the season.
Pardo and Lien each tallied two hits for the Vikings while Pardo and Chute tallied three RBI each. On the bases,
Kendall Cornick remains perfect on the season with her 17
th stolen base of the year.
Game Two: No. 2 Augustana
After a pair of uneventful opening innings, Augustana unleashed the offense in the third inning. The tone was set by the leadoff hitter,
Mary Pardo, with a home run that landed on the track beyond the outfield fence.
Ashley Mickschl followed suit with a solo shot of her own to make it 2-0 just two batters later.
After a pair of long balls, the Vikings pieced together a few base hits to tack on two more runs, first an RBI single from
Olivia Hazelbaker scoring
Torri Chute, then
Delaney Young singled in
Abby Lien.
Abbie Lund made it 5-0 as she singled in Hazelbaker as the Vikings then had Pardo return to the plate. With two runners on, she sent her second home run of the inning over the outfield fence, giving her four RBI and eight total bases in the inning.
Elliott, who pushed weak contact all game, threw a three-hitter while striking out three for her ninth win of the year in the circle.
Pardo finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBI while Hazelbaker and Young also tallied two hits apiece.
In all, the Vikings tallied 10 hits, eight runs and struck out just twice in the offensive outburst.
Up Next
Augustana
finally makes its return to Bowden Field on Wednesday as the Vikings play host to Southwest Minnesota State. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. The doubleheader will be the first games played by AU at its home facility since the NCAA Division II Championship season in 2019.
--GoAugie.com--
