BOXSCORE 1 | BOXSCORE 2 VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. -- Bri Dorale (SR, Ramsey, Minn./Anoka HS) went 4-for-7 at the plate with a double, scoring four runs in the doubleheader, while Kelsey Rorabeck (SR, Hudson, Wis./Somerset HS) had two doubles and drove in three runs, as the Augsburg College softball team opened its 2013 season with a split of a nonconference doubleheader with Northwestern College-Roseville on Friday afternoon at the Vadnais Sports Center.

Augsburg (1-1) claimed an 8-5 win in eight innings in the second game, scoring three runs in the top of the eighth to provide the margin of victory. Meanwhile, Northwestern (1-1) used an 11-run fifth inning, sending 14 batters to the plate, to score a 12-4 victory in the first game, in a game ended in the fifth inning due to the NCAA eight-run rule. 

Olivia Boerschinger (JR, Neenah, Wis.), a transfer from Wisconsin-La Crosse making her first pitching start for Augsburg in the second game, struck out three while walking two in a complete-game effort to earn the victory. Seventy-three of her 112 pitches in the game were strikes.

Tied 5-5 in the top of the eighth, the Auggies scored three runs to go ahead. Christa Blaquire (JR, Edam, Saskatchewan/H. Hardcastle HS) led off the inning with a double to left center, and after Dorale reached base on a bunt single and stole second, Rorabeck drove them both home with a ground-rule double to center field. Rorabeck then came around to score following a throwing error. Boerschinger claimed a strikeout in the bottom of the eighth, as she preserved the win for the Auggies.

Dorale went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double for the Auggies in the second game, scoring three runs, while Lauren Hurley (FY, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Bekka Kelly (SO, Columbia Heights, Minn.) had two hits, including a double, and scored two runs, and Rorabeck, Blaquiere and Allyson Ruedy (SR, Waseca, Minn.) also had two hits each.

Augsburg held a 5-2 lead after five innings, but the Eagles scored two runs in the sixth inning and one in the seventh to force the extra frame. Briana Rodgers went 3-for-4 at the plate for the Eagles in the second game. Kelsey Timm struck out six while walking one in a complete-game pitching effort for Northwestern.

In the first game, Augsburg used a four-run third inning to take an early lead, but Northwestern ended the game early with its 11-run fifth inning. Rodgers hit a two-run home run to left field in the fifth inning for the Eagles.

In the third frame, Blaquiere led off with a ground-rule double to center, and after a single by Dorale and a passed ball to score Blaquiere, Rorabeck hit a ground-rule double to center to bring Dorale home. A fielder's choice by Ruedy plated another run, and the fourth run came across on a hit batter with the bases loaded.

Molly Johnsen struck out six while walking two to pick up the pitching win for Northwestern, while Amanda Eaton (JR, White Bear Lake, Minn.) took the loss for the Auggies, striking out two while walking three. Blaquire and Devon Shaut (JR, Merritt Island, Fla.) pitched in relief for the Auggies.

Johnsen, Lauren Young, Kelsey Stoltman and Morgan Pfaff had two hits each for Northwestern in the first game.

Augsburg hosts its annual Auggie Dome Tournament at Edor Nelson Field next Friday and Saturday (3/1-2). Augsburg faces Wisconsin-La Crosse next Friday at 6:30 p.m., and hosts Wartburg (Iowa) next Saturday at 2 p.m.