Softball 4/5/08 -- Augsburg 2-9, Gustavus Adolphus 7-4
CLICK HERE FOR GAME 1 BOXSCORE
CLICK HERE FOR GAME 2 BOXSCORE
CLICK HERE FOR AUGSBURG SEASON STATISTICS
MINNEAPOLIS (4/5/08) -- Tiffany Magnuson (JR, Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy HS) went 3-for-4 with a double and triple, scoring two runs for Augsburg College in the second game, while Julie Mahre (SR, White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Emily Wendorff (FY, Prior Lake, Minn./Lakeville South HS) each had two-run doubles as part of a five-run third inning in the first game for Gustavus Adolphus College, as the teams split a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.
Gustavus (11-3 overall, 1-1 MIAC) extended its winning streak to 11 straight games with a 7-2 win in the first game, while Augsburg (9-15 overall, 5-1 MIAC) won its fifth game in its last six attempts with a 9-4 win in the second game. The games were moved from Gustavus to Augsburg due to field conditions in St. Peter.
The 5-1 start to the MIAC season is Augsburg's best six-game start to conference play since the 2000 campaign.
In the second game, Augsburg rallied from a 4-0, second-inning deficit with nine runs in a row -- two runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings, and three runs in the third. Augsburg took advantage of four Gustavus errors to score five unearned runs, and also was efficient on the basepaths, stealing eight bases in nine attempts (10-for-11 in the doubleheader). Jennifer Castillo (FY, Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) stole three bases in four attempts in the second game, while Jolene Ross (SR, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) stole two bases in the second game. Sarah Mueller (JR, Green Bay, Wis./Green Bay Southwest HS) and Laura Strandell (FY, Pine Island, Minn.) also stole two bases each in the doubleheader. As a team, Augsburg has now stolen 30 bases in 40 attempts this season.
Strandell had a double for the Auggies in the second inning, while Magnuson had a double in the third and a triple in the sixth frame. Mueller scored two runs for the Auggies in the second game, as did Ross and Magnuson.
Kirsten Prunty (FY, New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral HS) hit a three-run triple for the Gusties in the second inning of the first game, going 3-for-5 with four RBI in the doubleheader. She went 2-for-3 for the Gusties in the second game.
Augsburg starting pitcher Melissa Larsen (JR, Andover, Minn.) earned the victory, striking out one in four innings of work. Magnuson picked up the save with three innings of relief. Larsen pitched in both games of the doubleheader, relieving starter Sarah Green (JR, Winnebago, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) in the second game and throwing three shutout innings.
In the first contest, a five-run third inning, in which Gustavus sent nine batters to the plate, proved to be the difference. Wendorff and Mahre each had two-run doubles for the Gusties, with Prunty adding an RBI on a single. Just two of the seven Gustie runs charged against Green were earned, as Augsburg committed two errors.
Mahre and Leigh Weber (SO, Mankato, Minn./West HS) had two hits apiece for the Gusties in the first game, with Rachael Click (JR, Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) scoring two runs.
Jessa Hinz (FY, Richfield, Minn.) hit her first collegiate home run for Augsburg in the fifth inning, a solo blast to center field.
Callie Nelsen (SO, Willmar, Minn.) picked up the pitching win in the first game for the Gusties, striking out two in four innings of work. Erin Trubenbach (FY, Mankato, Minn./Maple River HS) struck out three in three innings of relief for the save. Nelsen pitched in both games for the Gusties, striking out a total of four batters against three walks.
Augsburg has had a doubleheader scheduled for Sunday (4/6) at Concordia-Moorhead postponed due to field conditions in Moorhead. The Auggies have two MIAC doubleheaders this week at Edor Nelson Field -- against Macalester on Wednesday (4/9) at 4 p.m. and against Hamline next Saturday (4/12) at 1 p.m. Gustavus returns to action on Sunday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Wisconsin-Stout, and travels to face St. Thomas in MIAC play on Tuesday (4/8) at 4 p.m.
