MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Augustana softball team scored 26 runs in a doubleheader sweep Friday at Northwest Missouri State. The No. 10 Vikings won game one 8-4 and game two 18-0. Delaney Young set a program record with nine RBI in the day's second game as part of a two-home run game for the first basemen.
 
Augustana improves to 6-3 on the year while Northwest Missouri State falls to 5-16.
 
For the doubleheader, Abby Lien went 5-for-7 at the plate with 7 RBI and two home runs. Liz Dierks compiled five hits as well while scoring four runs.
 
Game One: No. 10 Augustana 8, Northwest Missouri State 4
A five-run first inning propelled the Vikings to a victory in game one. The scoring started after a double from Mary Pardo and a home run from Torri Chute.
 
Two batters later, it was 4-0 thanks to a single from Abby Lien and a home run from Kennedy Buckman. The four-bagger was the first of her career. The fifth run of the opening frame came courtesy of a double from Amanda Dickmeyer, which scored Gracey Brink.
 
The Bearcats scratched two runs across in the bottom of the first to make it a 5-2 contest.
 
It wasn't until the fourth inning that the offense came back to life. Liz Dierks singled up the middle to score Abbie Lund and Dickmeyer for a commanding lead. Dickmeyer was sent to first base after being hit by a pitch, then stole second base. She was advanced to third thanks to a single from Lund, who also stole second base.
 
The final run of the game for AU came in the fifth inning as Chute crossed home plate thanks to a single from Brink.
 
Northwest Missouri State added a run in the fifth and another in the seventh to make the final score 8-4.
 
Ashley Mickschl pitched the first three innings, giving up four hits. Makayla Williams pitched the next three innings, giving up two runs and striking out one. Olivia Hazelbaker threw the final three outs with a strikeout.
 
 The Vikings tallied 12 hits in the game with two each from Lien, Brink and Dickmeyer. Every starter in the lineup recorded a hit for AU.
 
Game Two: No. 10 Augustana 18, Northwest Missouri State 0
The home run ball was the answer in game two as 14 of the 18 runs were scored via the long ball. That got started in the first inning when Abby Lien hit the first of two Viking Grand Slams in the game, scoring Mary Pardo, Liz Dierks and Torri Chute.
 
In the second inning, Delaney Young hit the first of her two home runs with a three-run shot into left center. The home run scored Dierks and Dickmeyer for the 7-0 lead.
 
Augustana tacked on six more runs in the third thanks to a Pardo single into left center and a Young single, also into left center. Pardo's hit scored Dickmeyer while Young plated Pardo and Lund.
 
Lien connected on her second home run of the game to close the scoring in the third inning as she sent a ball over the left-field scoreboard, scoring Young and Dierks.
 
The culmination of the scoring came in the fourth inning, first a Dierks single scoring Dickmeyer. Then came Young's record-breaking Grand Slam. She hit the home run to straight-away center field for the Vikings' second Grand Slam of the game, Young's second home run of the game, and her sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth RBI of the game.
 
The nine RBI set a new program record for most RBI in a single game. The previous mark was set last season by Kendall Cornick, and ironically was tied previously in game two by Abby Lien, with seven.
 
Amber Elliott improved to 3-0 in the circle for Augustana with three innings of shutout ball. Hailey Houston came on for the final two innings, striking out one and allowing no runs on one hit.
 
The Viking offense totaled 17 hits for the 18 runs with a 4-for-4 game from Dierks who also scored four runs. The four runs scored ties a school record for most runs scored in a game.
 
Up Next
The Vikings travel to Florida for 10 games over Augustana's Spring Break. Action in the Sunshine State picks up Tuesday with games against Lindenwood and Saginaw Valley State.
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