SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana softball earned its fifth-straight sweep Saturday with back-to-back scores of 9-1 against Minot State. The Vikings run-ruled the Beavers in six innings in game one, and five innings in game two.
 
With tropical storm force gusts, Augustana tallied four home runs on the day.
 
Augustana is now 28-13 on the season and 13-1 in the NSIC. Minot State falls to 13-11, 8-4.
 
Game One: Augustana 9, Minot State 1
Grace Glanzer picked up her 13^th win of the season with the complete-game three-hit contest. She struck out five batters while inducing 10 groundouts on the windy day.
 
Gracey Brink got the scoring started for Augustana with a line-drive home run over Lake Street in right field in the second inning. In the third, Kennedy Buckman singled in Desi Cuevas. Buckman then scored on a single by Torri Chute.
 
Ashton Dorman hit a home run of her own in the fourth inning as she crushed a home run over the left-center field fence. The ball defied the wind and carried well past the wall.
 
Chute recorded her second RBI of the contest in the fifth inning as she doubled in Cuevas for the 5-0 lead.
 
Minot State picked up its lone run of the contest in the sixth inning on an RBI single.
 
Augustana answered back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game. Ella Cooper scored on a Stella Harber double. Harber and Hailey Houston each scored on a double from Andrea Cain. The game-ending run was a Cuevas single into left field to score Liz Dierks.
 
Of Augustana's 12 hits, Cuevas recorded three of them with two each from Chute and Harber.
 
Game Two: Augustana 9, Minot State 1
The Vikings recorded nine hits with two home runs in the opening frame to run away with the contest. Andrea Cain belted a home run to lead off the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, AU led 4-0 as Torri Chute homered to bring in Kennedy Buckman and Desi Cuevas.
 
Minot State got on the scoreboard in the top of the third with a sacrifice fly.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, AU plated four more runs. Ashton Dorman scored while Liz Dierks reached base on an error. Stella Harber then scored on a wild pitch to keep the pressure on Minot State.
 
The seventh run of the game, and third of the inning, was scored courtesy of a single by Cuevas to score Dierks. Kennedy Buckman then doubled into left-center field to score Cuevas.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, the game-ending run came as Nicole Bellis picked up the RBI to score Gracey Brink who had reached base on a single. She simply stole second and advanced to third on Ashton Dorman's at-bat.
 
Augustana received multi-hit games from Cuevas and Buckman as part of the nine hits.
 
Lexi Lander allowed just three hits in five innings while striking out two. She moved to 8-5 on the year in the circle.
 
Up Next
Augustana is set to play Sioux Falls at the Sanford Sports Complex on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.