MANSFIELD, Texas – No. 9 Augustana moved to 1-2 on the weekend Saturday afternoon, falling 11-4 to Southern Arkansas at the Fields at Station.

The Vikings matched the Muleriders early and briefly pulled even midway through the contest, but Southern Arkansas capitalized on extended innings and drew 15 walks to pull away late.

Southern Arkansas jumped on the board in the first inning, scoring an unearned run after a pair of walks. The lead grew to 3-0 in the second on a two-run home run from Regan Dillon.

Augustana responded in the bottom half of the inning. Norah Christiansen doubled to right field before Susan Tollefson delivered an RBI ground-rule double down the left-field line. Sidney Smart followed with an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 3-2.

The Vikings continued to chip away in the third. Andrea Cain reached base and stole second before Kierra Lubovich lined an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 3-3.

Southern Arkansas regained control in the fifth, using four runs on two hits and a series of walks to reclaim momentum. America Rubio delivered a two-run single during the inning, and the Muleriders added an additional run on aggressive baserunning to extend the lead to 7-3.

Augustana added a run in the bottom of the fifth as Cain doubled to right field and later scored on a Southern Arkansas throwing error, trimming the margin to 7-4.

Southern Arkansas put the game out of reach in the seventh, scoring four runs highlighted by RBI hits from Jenny Bouthillier and Payton Owens to seal the 11-4 final.

Cain finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Lubovich and Tollefson each drove in a run. Christiansen, Tollefson and Stella Harber also recorded extra-base hits for the Vikings.

Mateya Speltz took the loss in the circle after working 4.2 innings. Jaelyn Garcia and Ella Cooper combined for the final 2.1 innings of relief.

Up Next
Augustana wraps up the weekend on Sunday afternoon with two games against Midwestern State and Cameron.