GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 2-ranked University of St. Thomas softball team claimed two close victories over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field, winning 4-1 and 3-2.

Augsburg pitcher Melissa Larsen (JR, Andover, Minn.) threw one of the best performances of her career, with a complete-game effort in the first game and a five-inning effort in the second game, keeping the Auggies (6-24 overall, 4-8 MIAC) close in both games.

Augsburg's Laura Strandell (SO, Pine Island, Minn.) and Tiffany Magnuson (SR, Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy HS) had two hits apiece in the doubleheader, with Strandell adding a double and an RBI, and Magnuson scoring a run.

For St. Thomas (27-3 overall, 11-1 MIAC), ranked No. 2 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III national rankings, Sydney Marquardt (FY, Regina, Saskatchewan) had three hits in the first game, including two doubles, while driving in a run. Colleen Owen (SR, Lakeville, Minn.) and Kaitlyn Wightman (SR, Forest Lake, Minn.) accounted for all the scoring in the second game for the Tommies, with Owen hitting a solo home run in the second inning and Wightman hitting a two-run homer in the fifth frame.

Augsburg scored twice in the fifth inning of the second game, as Amanda Schwartz (FY, Becker, Minn.) drove in a run on a fielder's choice, and a Strandell double to right plated another run.

In the first game, the Tommies scored single runs in each of the first four innings, and pitcher Christy Gries (FY, Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln HS) held the Auggies to four hits and an unearned run, while striking out five in a complete-game effort. Augsburg scored in the fifth inning, with a run coming across on a fielding error. The Auggies stranded eight runners on base in the first game.

Both teams return to MIAC play on Thursday (4/16) at 4 p.m., with Augsburg playing at St. Mary's and St. Thomas playing at Concordia-Moorhead.