Softball 4/30/01 -- Augsburg 2-1, St. Catherine 0-0

Boxscore from Game 1 -- Augsburg 2, St. Catherine 0
Boxscore from Game 2 -- Augsburg 1, St. Catherine 0

ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/30/01) -- Rachael Ekholm (Jr., Richfield, Minn.) struck out six batters and pitched two straight shutout victories in leading Augsburg College to a sweep of the College of St. Catherine in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball doubleheader Monday evening at St. Catherine.

Augsburg won the first contest 2-0 and the second 1-0 to improve to 14-18 overall and 7-11 in the MIAC. St. Catherine dropped to 9-16 overall and 5-11 in the MIAC.

Ekholm has now pitched four games in a row without giving up an earned run, with three shutout victories and a 1-0 loss. She gave up just one hit in the first game -- to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning -- and four hits in the second. She struck out four Wildcats in the first game and two in the second.

In the first game, Augsburg scored single runs in the second and seventh inning. Melissa Lee (Fr., Cannon Falls, Minn./Randolph HS) stole home when a suicide squeeze attempt failed in the second inning, and pinch-runner Angie Satre (Jr., Hoffman, Minn./West Central Area HS) scored on a double by Karen Tweeten (Jr., Spring Grove, Minn.) in the seventh.

Augsburg pulled off two double plays in the first game, in the sixth and seventh inning, to thwart Wildcat attempts to score.

Augsburg had just four hits in the first game, with Kristen Lideen (Fr., Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) going 2-for-3. Lee and Tweeten had the other Auggie hits. Kelli Doschadis (Fr., Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) had the lone St. Catherine hit. Ana Fernandez (So., West Chicago, Ill.) took the pitching loss for St. Catherine, striking out two.

Jennie LaManna (Jr., South St. Paul, Minn.) went 3-for-3 in the second game, as she collected all but one of Augsburg's hits -- all singles. Lideen had the other Auggie hit and scored the team's only run of the game, coming across on a wild pitch in the first contest.

St. Catherine stranded five runners in the second game, including two in the second and two in the third. The Wildcats had four hits, including a triple by Clare Grundtner (So., St. Paul, Minn.). Rachael Breckenridge (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) took the loss for the Wildcats, striking out four.

Augsburg returns to MIAC action on Wednesday (5/2) at 4 p.m., playing at St. Olaf. St. Catherine returns to action on Thursday (5/3) at 4 p.m., playing at Bethel.