PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Augustana softball team dropped a pair of one-run games to No. 13 Pittsburg State Saturday. The Vikings fell 4-3 in game one, then dropped an extra-inning 6-5 affair in the day's second game.
 
Augustana's record stands at 13-12 while Pittsburg State has now won 18-straight games with a 28-2 record. PSU's last loss was to Augustana by a 6-0 score on Feb. 23.
 
Game One: No. 13 Pittsburg State 4, Augustana 3
The Vikings held leads of 1-0 and 3-1 but were unable to grasp the win in the 4-3 setback to the 13^th-ranked Gorillas.
 
Torri Chute singled up the middle in the top of the first to score Desi Cuevas, who was on-base after a single of her own. She then stole second base to get into scoring position for Chute.
 
Pittsburg State answered back in the bottom of the second to knot things at 1-1.
 
In the top of the fourth, a two-run home run by Gracey Brink gave the Vikings a 3-1 lead. With Chute on base after a double, Brink went deep to right field for the home run.
 
The Gorillas then chipped away at AU's lead first on an RBI triple in the fifth inning then the go-ahead run in the sixth.
 
Augustana got a runner on in the seventh but was unable to create the offense to tie or take the lead in the 4-3 loss.
 
Augustana recorded seven hits in the contest with two from Chute and the other five in five different spots in the order. Grace Glanzer pitched the complete game for AU, striking out three while allowing eight hits.
 
Game Two:  No. 13 Pittsburg State 6, Augustana 5, 8 innings
In a wild affair, the contest ended in controversial fashion as Pittsburg State attempted to steal home. Heather Arnett, who was standing on third base, took off for home after catcher Gracey Brink tossed the ball back to pitcher Hailey Houston.
 
Brink then made the catch and tagged Arnett out, without touching home plate. The umpire called Arnett out but reversed his call to plate obstruction a few seconds later. The scored run was the winning run in the eighth inning.
 
To get to that point, the contest was a wild back-and-forth affair that started with a Desi Cuevas home run to center field in the third inning.
 
The home team responded with a pair of runs in the fourth and a third run in the fifth.
 
The Vikings rallied back in the sixth as Andrea Cain singled in Hailey Houston. A second run was called at home plate in what appeared to be the same situation as how Pittsburg State won the game.
 
Despite the ruling, the Vikings did push another run across the plate, this time on a Cuevas single through the right side to score Cain from second base.
 
In the top of the seventh, Augustana put the go-ahead run on the scoreboard as Nicole Bellis hit a double into the right-center field gap to score Ashton Dorman from first base.
 
The Gorillas tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh for the extra inning. In the eighth, Augustana took a 5-4 lead as Cuevas grounded out to second base, but allowed Stella Harber to scamper home.
 
The Gorillas tied things back up in the bottom of the eighth as Heather Arnett reached base on an error, allowing Emily Ades to touch home plate. That then set up the final play which won the game for PSU, 6-5.
 
Up Next
Augustana makes its long-awaited home debut on Tuesday by hosting Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday. First pitch is slated for noon at Bowden Field.