BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Augustana softball team won its seventh game in its last eight played as part of a sweep of Missouri Western Tuesday. The Vikings avenged a 2-0 loss to the Griffons in February with the sweep to improve to 12-7. Missouri Western falls to 14-6 with the losses.
 
Andrea Cain had a strong day with six hits in nine at-bats to lead AU with six RBI.
 
Game One: Augustana 4, Missouri Western 1
In a battle of ace pitchers, offense was little to find in this one as the contest held at 0-0 until the sixth inning. It was at this time the Griffons pushed an unearned run across the plate.
 
Any hopes of shutting the door on the Vikings in the seventh were dashed as Ella Cooper, pinch running for Lexi Lander, scored from second base on an Andrea Cain single. Cain hit a sharp grounder towards third base that leaked into the outfield and Cooper was headed to home plate the entire time.
 
Grace Glanzer set the Griffons down in order in the seventh while Hailey Houston spelled her in relief in the eighth and ninth innings.
 
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth, the Vikings got to work in the ninth. With runners on first and third, Cain sent a no-doubt home run over the left-center field fence for the 4-1 lead.
 
Houston then closed out the game for the 4-1, extra innings win.
 
Augustana totaled nine hits in the contest with four from Cain and two from Nicole Bellis.
 
Augustana's pitching staff limited MWSU to just five hits while Glanzer went seven innings of one unearned-run ball and seven strikeouts. Houston, earning her second win of 2024, struck out three in her two innings.
 
Game Two: Augustana 8, Missouri Western 5
Augustana struck early and kept the bats on the ball in the 8-5 victory. Kennedy Buckman was pushed home on a single by Gracey Brink in the opening frame for a 1-0 lead just five batters into the contest.
 
A three-run fourth inning pushed the lead to 4-0. With Lexi Lander and Liz Dierks on base, Andrea Cain hit a triple into right field to make the score 3-0. Cain was then sent home on a sacrifice fly by Desi Cuevas.
 
The score pushed to 5-0 as Lander, the Vikings' starter in the circle, helped her own cause. She singled to left field to score Torri Chute
 
The Vikings then hung two more runs on the scoreboard in the sixth inning to make it a 7-0 AU advantage.
 
Missouri Western attempted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth with four runs to make the score 7-4.
 
In the top of the seventh, Ella Cooper barreled the ball square on the bat and saw it fly over the left-field fence for the solo home run. The Griffons did get one run back in the bottom of the seventh for the final 8-5 score.
 
Lander picked up the win in the circle, the third of the year for the Vikings' senior. In the batter's box, AU racked up 10 hits with Cain and Liz Dierks leading the way with two each.
 
Up Next
Augustana's tour of the Show-Me State continues on Thursday with a doubleheader at Missouri Southern. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. in Joplin, Missouri.