GAME 1 BOX
GAME 2 BOX

ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/18/03) -- Augsburg College allowed just four hits in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball doubleheader Friday afternoon against host Macalester College.

But the Auggies lost the doubleheader to the Scots, 2-0 and 4-3, at Shaw Field. In falling to 4-24 overall and 1-13 in MIAC play, Augsburg saw its losing streak extended to nine straight games and 16 of its last 17 contests. Eighteen of Augsburg's 24 losses have come by three runs or less this season.

Auggie pitcher Cassie Hoss (Fr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) threw a one-hitter in the first game, the lone hit a one-out single by Kat Sprole in the first inning.

The Scots manufactured single runs in the third and sixth innings. In the third, Lisa Bauer struck out, but reached first base on a passed ball. She advanced to second on another passed ball and moved to third on a ground out. With two outs, Cris Soma struck out, but reached first on a passed ball, enabling Bauer to score.

In the sixth inning, lightning struck again, as Soma struck out and reached base on another passed ball -- one of four given up by the Auggies on the day. A hit batter, groundout and a bases-loaded hit batter later, Soma scored.

Augsburg had five hits in the game -- all singles -- and three walks, but stranded eight runners on base. On the season, Augsburg has stranded 202 runners on base -- an average of 7.2 per game.

Alisha Seifert scored the first-game pitching win for Macalester, striking out two. She struck out one and walked three to pick up the second-game victory as well.

Augsburg held a lead in the second game, as Kristen Lideen (Jr., Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS), the leading hitter in the country in NCAA Division III softball, stroked her second home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field, in the third inning to give Augsburg a 2-1 lead.

But Macalester took the lead for good with a three-run fourth inning. A two-run double by Anna Sokol gave the Scots the lead, and she later scored on a passed ball.

Augsburg scored a single run in the seventh, as Christine Matthews (So., Robbinsdale, Minn./Cooper HS) brought Lideen home on a two-out single. But the Auggies left the tying and go-ahead runs on base with an infield pop-up to end the game.

Macalester's Caitlin Adams went 2-for-3, tripling and scoring on a wild pitch in the second inning.

Lideen went 2-for-3 for Augsburg, giving her a .520 batting average after the doubleheader. She now has an .816 slugging percentage and .573 on-base percentage. Matthews went 2-for-4 for the Auggies, as did Sam Kronschnabel (Sr., St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS), who had a double. Jessie Bowman (Fr., St. Louis Park, Minn.) also had a double for the Auggies.

Shelley Harris (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest HS) took the pitching loss for Augsburg. She struck out three and walked two, surrendering just three hits.

Both teams return to MIAC play on Tuesday (4/22), with Macalester playing at St. Thomas at 4 p.m., and Augsburg hosting St. Benedict at 5 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field.