Softball 4/13/01 -- St. Mary's 4-9, Augsburg 1-0

Boxscore from Game 1
Boxscore from Game 2

MINNEAPOLIS (4/13/01) -- Jill Hocking (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) pitched five no-hit innings in the first game, then went 3-for-3 with four RBI in the second contest, leading defending NCAA Division III national champion St. Mary's University to a doubleheader sweep of Augsburg College in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball action Friday afternoon at Augsburg's Anderson-Nelson Field.

St. Mary's won the first contest 4-1 and the second 9-0 in five innings to improve to 17-5 overall and 7-1 in the MIAC. The Cardinals have won their last 11 games in a row. Augsburg drops to 9-11 overall and 2-4 in the MIAC.

Hocking struck out six while walking one -- the only baserunner she allowed -- in her five innings of work in the first game. Missy Blaser (So., Austin, Minn./Pacelli HS) relieved her and struck out one, but allowed two hits and a run.

Jennifer Meyer (Sr., Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle-Moraine HS) went 2-for-3 at the plate, driving in two runs while scoring one. She singled in a run in the third inning and hit a solo home run to left field in the fifth. Lindsey Smith (Fr., Elma, Iowa/New Hamopton HS) also went 2-for-3, scoring a run. She had a double and triple. Hocking contributed a double and Ann Munzenmaier (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa) went 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring a run.

Mindy Evers (Jr., Comfrey, Minn.), making just her third pitching appearance of the season (and second start) for the Auggies, struck out one, but walked four and allowed eight hits. Augsburg scored its lone run in the seventh, when Rachael Ekholm (Jr., Richfield, Minn.) doubled and came in on a sacrifice fly by Karen Tweeten (Jr., Spring Grove, Minn.).

The Cardinals plated three runs in the first inning of the second contest, as Meyer and Hocking each had run-scoring triples. Hocking's three-run double to center field and Jackie Huegel's (So., Alta Vista, Iowa/New Hampton HS) run-scoring single capped a four-run third inning, breaking the game wide open for the visitors. The Cardinals added single runs in the fourth and fifth, on a Meyer single and groundout by Becky Limberg (Sr., La Crosse, Wis./Logan HS). Meyer went 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Augsburg was limited to just three hits and advanced a runner to third base just once. Kristen Lideen (Fr., Champlin, Minn./Champlin-Park HS), Sam Kronschnabel (So., St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) and Jennifer Lemke (So., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) had the lone Auggie hits.

Jennifer Gonerka (So., St. Paul, Minn./Harding HS) pitched a complete-game victory for the Cardinals in the second contest, striking out two while allowing just one walk. Ekholm took the loss, striking out one but allowing nine hits and two walks. Three Cardinal runs were unearned against Ekholm.

Augsburg returns to action on Monday (4/16) at 3 p.m., hosting St. Benedict in a rescheduled MIAC doubleheader at Anderson-Nelson Field. St. Mary's hosts Carleton in an MIAC doubleheader on Wednesday (4/18) at 4 p.m.