The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) softball team suffered a pair of tough losses against Augustana in a pair of NSIC games played at the UMC softball field.
GAME ONE – A one-out walk started a rally for the Vikings in the third inning giving the visitors an early lead. With a runner at second base following a steal, Augustana plated its first run with a single into center field. Another single up the middle plated a runner at second base putting the Vikings ahead 2-0. A fourth base hit in the inning scored the final run from third base giving the visitors a 3-0 advantage going into the bottom of the third inning. Augustana’s lead grew to 5-0 in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-run home run clearing the fence for the Vikings. Augustana added a sixth run in the fifth inning with an RBI double hit to left field increasing the Vikings’ edge to 6-0. Augustana scored its seventh run of the game with an RBI single giving the Vikings a 7-0. Augustana added three more runs in the sixth inning to close out a 10-0 win in six innings via run rule in game one.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
| AUG | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 1 |
| UMC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Paige Pitlick – UMC | 5.0 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Darian Pancirov – UMC | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
For UMC –
Haley Strachan – 2-2
GAME TWO – Minnesota Crookston took its first lead of the doubleheader with a sacrifice fly by Malia Pula (Jr., Gilroy, CA) scoring Hannah Macias (Fr., West Covina) and putting UMC in front 1-0 after one inning. Augustana responded with a pair of solo home runs in the top of the second inning to take a 2-1 lead after two innings. A third home run to start the third inning gave the Vikings a 3-1 edge before an RBI single hit to center field made it 4-1 heading into the bottom of the third inning. In the bottom of the third inning, Haley Strachan (Sr., Phoenix, AZ) scored on a wild pitch trimming the Golden Eagles deficit down to 4-2 after three innings. Augustana clubbed its fourth home run of the game in the top of the fourth inning with the two-run shot clearing the center field fence and giving the visitors a 6-2 lead. A two-RBI single hit to left field continued the Vikings’ scoring spree giving Augustana an 8-2 lead after five innings. Augustana added one more run in the seventh inning to take a 9-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Golden Eagles’ Jordan Peterson (Soph., Lakeville) hit an RBI single for Minnesota Crookston in the bottom of the seventh inning, but that’s where UMC’s rally ended as Augustana completed the two-game sweep 9-3.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 13-39 on the season and 2-26 in conference play. The Golden Eagles conclude their season on Saturday with a doubleheader at home against Wayne State beginning at 1 p.m. Augustana improves to 46-7 overall and 26-2 in NSIC games.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| AUG | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 0 |
| UMC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Mikayla Jones – UMC | 3.2 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Taylor Graven – UMC | 3.1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
For UMC –
