MANSFIELD, Texas – No. 9 Augustana opened the 2026 season Friday with a split on day one of tournament play at the Fields at Station. The Vikings began the day with a 7-3 win over Lubbock Christian before dropping a hard-fought 10-9 extra-inning decision to Eastern New Mexico in the afternoon game.

Across the two games, Augustana totaled 16 runs on 18 hits while showing resilience in both the circle and at the plate.

Augustana 7, Lubbock Christian 3
Augustana started the season with a strong all-around performance behind a complete-game effort from Mateya Speltz. The sophomore struck out 11 while allowing three runs on six hits to earn the opening-day win.

After a scoreless first three innings, the Vikings broke through in the top of the fourth. Claire Wynja drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on a double by Kierra Lubovich. Stella Harber followed with a two-run double to left field, and Harber later stole home on a caught-stealing play to give Augustana a 3-0 lead.

Lubbock Christian responded in the bottom of the fourth with three runs to tie the game, but Augustana quickly regained momentum in the fifth. Andrea Cain singled and Desi Cuevas doubled before Wynja launched a three-run home run to deep left field, putting the Vikings back in front, 6-3.

Augustana added an insurance run in the seventh as Lubovich delivered an RBI ground-rule double to score Wynja. Speltz shut the door in the bottom half, working around late traffic to seal the 7-3 victory.

Eastern New Mexico 10, Augustana 9 (8 innings)
The Vikings carried their offensive rhythm into the second game, jumping out to an early lead. Cain was hit by a pitch to open the first and later scored on an RBI walk from Sidney Smart to make it 1-0.

Augustana extended its advantage in the second inning, plating four runs. With the bases loaded, Desi Cuevas and Wynja each drove in runs with groundouts before RBI singles from Lubovich and Norah Christiansen pushed the lead to 5-0.

Eastern New Mexico chipped away with runs in the second and third innings, cutting the margin to 5-3. Augustana answered again in the fifth as Smart doubled and stole home, and Ella Cooper added an RBI double to give the Vikings a 7-3 cushion.

The Greyhounds rallied in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of defensive miscues to score four unearned runs and tie the game at 7-7.

Both teams were held scoreless through the sixth and seventh innings, sending the contest to extras. In the top of the eighth, Augustana struck first as Wynja delivered a two-run single up the middle to score Briana Lee and Cooper, giving the Vikings a 9-7 lead.

Eastern New Mexico responded in the bottom of the inning. After two runners reached, Seneca Aarstad connected on a three-run walk-off home run to left field, handing Augustana the 10-9 loss.

Up Next
Augustana continues tournament play on Saturday against Southern Arkansas at 2:15 p.m.