Softball 3/29/08 -- Augsburg 7-5, St. Benedict 5-4
CLICK HERE FOR GAME 1 BOXSCORE
CLICK HERE FOR GAME 2 BOXSCORE
CLICK HERE FOR AUGSBURG SEASON STATISTICS
MINNEAPOLIS (3/29/08) -- Laura Strandell (FY, Pine Island, Minn.) hit a two-out, two-run, game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh inning of the second game, giving the Augsburg College softball team its first doubleheader sweep of the College of St. Benedict since 1987, with wins by scores of 7-5 and 5-4 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.
Tiffany Magnuson (JR, Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy HS) went 5-for-8 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI for the Auggies (6-14 overall, 2-0 MIAC) in the doubleheader, while Jennifer Castillo (FY, Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) went 4-for-7 with two runs scored and three RBI.
The doubleheader sweep was Augsburg's first in MIAC play since the end of the 2006 season, and its first doubleheader sweep of St. Benedict since April 23, 1987. Augsburg also eclipsed its number of victories from last season (4-34) with the two victories.
For St. Benedict (4-9 overall, 0-2 MIAC), Tanya Croger (FY, Duluth, Minn.) went 3-for-7 in the doubleheader with two runs scored, while Nikki Holmes (SR, Eagan, Minn.) went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI. Jillian Rigg (JR, Billings, Mont./Central Catholic HS) went 3-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBI, and Molly Bodeker (JR, Eagan, Minn.) drove in three runs on two hits with a run scored in the doubleheader.
Augsburg pitcher Sarah Green (JR, Winnebago, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) earned the victories in both games, striking out five while walking just one in 12 innings of work. She pitched five innings in the first game and tossed a complete game in the second contest. Magnuson pitched two innings of scoreless relief for the Auggies in the first game.
Andrea Fahey (JR, Little Canada, Minn./St. Bernard's HS) struck out one while waking two and allowing four earned runs in a complete-game effort for St. Benedict in the first game, while Elle Borba (FY, Ontario, Calif.) struck out two while walking two for the Blazers in the second game.
Augsburg rallied for victories in both games. In the second game, the Blazers scored three runs in the top of the first inning, as Croger doubled and scored on a single by Rigg, and Bodeker hit her first home run of the season on a line-drive shot to left field. Augsburg rallied back in the fifth inning, as Ashley Westerman (SR, Bemidji, Minn.) doubled to drive in two runs. But St. Benedict scored a run in the top of the seventh, as a double by Holmes plated a run.
In the bottom of the seventh, Augsburg loaded the bases on an error, single and walk, and a Castillo single with one out plated a run. After a fielder's choice forceout at home, Strandell stroked a double to center, which plated Castillo and Jolene Ross (SR, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) for the game-winning runs.
In the first game, Augsburg rallied from a 4-2, third-inning deficit to tie the game on a two-error play in the bottom of the frame. The Auggies went ahead with a three-run fifth inning, as Castillo singled to drive in a run and scored on a wild pitch, and another run scored on a fielding error. St. Benedict scored a single run in the top of the seventh, as Alyssa Kubesh (FY, Buffalo Lake, Minn.) doubled and scored on a single by Kristen Herges (FY, Rochester, Minn.).
Both teams return to MIAC play with road doubleheaders on Tuesday (4/1) at 4 p.m., with Augsburg playing at Concordia-Moorhead and St. Benedict playing at Carleton.
