Softball 4/23/04 -- Hamline 8-14, Augsburg 6-0 (2nd game 5 inn.)

GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (4/23/04) -- Niki Seal (Jr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS) pitched 8.2 innings of shutout softball, went 4-for-7 at the plate with 10 runs batted in, hit a three-run home run in the first game and a two-run double in the second game, as her Hamline University softball team swept a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader over host Augsburg College on Friday evening at Edor Nelson Field.

Hamline won the first game 8-6 and took the second game 14-0 to improve to 23-12 overall, 14-6 in MIAC play. Augsburg saw its losing streak fall to six straight games in dropping to 9-25 overall, 5-15 in MIAC play. Augsburg has dropped 15 of its last 18 contests, all in MIAC play.

Seal pitched the first four innings in the first game, not allowing a run while giving up just three hits. Behind her, Hamline built a 6-0 lead after four innings, and added two more in the sixth for reliever Beth Bisciglia (Sr., West St. Paul, Minn./Sibley HS).

A two-run single by Emily Gross (Jr., West St. Paul, Minn./Sibley HS) put the Pipers on the board in the third inning, and a run-scoring single by Amanda Gage (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) and three-run homer to left field by Seal gave the Pipers a big lead in the fourth. Seal drove in another run on a groundout in the sixth, and a groundout by Holly Wiborg (Fr., Chaska, Minn.) plated the eighth run for the Pipers.

But Augsburg rallied in the final two innings against Bisciglia to make it close. A bases-loaded walk and two-run double by Jess Bowman (So., St. Louis Park, Minn.) put three runs on the board for the Auggies in the sixth.

Augsburg added more in the seventh, as Trisha Pederson (Sr., Cloquet, Minn./Proctor HS) drove in a run on a groundout, and after a walk put the potential tying run at the plate, Seal was re-inserted at the pitchign spot. A fielder's choice and walk loaded the bases, and Melissa Lee (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn./Randolph HS) hit a two-out, two-run single to make the score 8-6. But a groundout ended the game with the bases loaded.

Gage went 2-for-4 for the Pipers, while Lee went 2-for-4 and Bowman went 2-for-2 for the Auggies. Lisa Uehling (Fr., Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) went 2-for-3.

Shelley Harris (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest HS) pitched the first four innings for the Auggies in a losing effort, though she struck out four. Kati Tweeten (Fr., Spring Grove, Minn.) pitched in relief.

Hamline dominated from start to finish in the second game, sending 40 batters to the plate in five innings, pounding out 12 hits and scoring 14 runs. Meanwhile, Seal struck out three and allowed just two hits and a walk in four innings to score the win, with Chris Hodroff (Jr., Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) pitching a 1-2-3 fifth inning in relief.

Seal was the sparkplug again for the Pipers, with a two-run double in the first inning to start the scoring. Nine batters came to the plate in the second inning, as Hamline manufactured four runs on a bases-loaded hit batter, steal of home on a failed pickoff attempt, and two runners scoring on wild pitches.

Kari Lenzendorf (Fr., Eastman, Wis./Prairie du Chien HS) doubled to lead off the third inning and scored on a fielder's choice by Marion Zillhardt (Sr., Andover, Minn./Anoka HS). Joan Sheedy (Jr., Austin, Minn.) grounded out to bring in a run, and Seal hit a two-run single. Four more runs came across in the fourth, on a bases-loaded hit batter, bases-loaded walk and another two-run single by Seal.

Seal went 3-for-3 in the second game with six RBI, while Zillhardt scored four times and drove in three runs without a hit. Gage and Rachael Young (So., Buffalo, Minn.) each went 2-for-3, with Gage scoring four runs and Young scoring twice.

Augsburg's Julia Grovum (So., Cottage Grove, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) started and pitched three innings, with Tweeten pitching in relief. Augsburg managed just two hits in the second game, a single by Lee and a triple by Bowman.

Both teams have home MIAC doubleheaders on Saturday (4/24) at 1 p.m. Augsburg closes its season facing Gustavus at Edor Nelson Field, while Hamline hosts St. Olaf.