ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. -- The Augsburg University softball team finished its regular season with its most wins since the 1992 campaign, rallying in the seventh inning for an 8-7 nonconference win at Crown College on Tuesday afternoon.

THE BASICS
SCORES: Augsburg 8, Crown 7
LOCATION: Crown Softball Field, St. Bonifacius, Minn.
RECORD: Augsburg 22-17 overall, Crown 17-18 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Auggies went ahead for good in the top of the seventh inning. Jacquline Nichols (JR, Royalton, Minn./Royalton HS) led off the inning with her second double of the game, moved to third on a flyout, then scored on an infield groundout by Nell Gehrke (SO, Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS). Pitcher Morgan Malley (JR, Harmony, Minn./Fillmore Central HS) then clinched the win by retiring Crown in order in the bottom of the seventh on three infield groundouts.
• Augsburg jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but Crown used a four-run bottom of the third to take the lead. The Auggies then scored four runs in the fourth, but the Storm scored two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to tie the game.
• Shannon Dale (SO, Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) hit an RBI single and Carly Dropik (JR, Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria HS) drove in a run on a bases-loaded walk in the second inning, and Nichols hit an RBI double to plate Taylor Mattice (SR, Woodbury, Minn./Centennial HS) from first base in the third.
• Augsburg took advantage of an RBI triple by Dropik, who later scored on an error, a double by Katie Parker (SR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North HS) and a two-run single by Mattice to score four runs in the fourth inning.
• Augsburg pounded out 12 hits in the game -- its 14th game of the season, and sixth in its last nine contests, collecting 10 or more hits. Eight of the nine batters had at least one hit in the game, with Nichols leading the way with a 3-for-4 effort. Parker and Samantha Anderson (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids HS) had two hits each.
• Malley struck out two while walking four to pick up the win in a complete-game effort, her fifth of the season, to improve to 6-8 in the pitching circle.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg finished the regular season with a 22-17 record, its most wins in a single season in softball since the 1992 campaign, when the Auggies went 24-12 overall (16-4 MIAC).
• Augsburg has recorded 20 or more wins in its last three straight seasons and seven of its last 11 campaigns.

FOR THE FOES
• Cassidy Valenzuela and Lottie Ellis had two hits each for Crown, with Valenzuela scoring two runs. Lis King hit a double and had two RBI.
• Kailee Leathers struck out two while walking five in a complete-game pitching effort for the Storm.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg opens play in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs on Thursday (5/3) at 4:30 p.m. with a "play-in" game against St. Olaf.
• Site for the single-elimination game will not be determined until after St. Olaf's home doubleheader against Bethel on Wednesday (5/2). If St. Olaf loses both games or splits the doubleheader, the playoff game will be played at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field. If St. Olaf sweeps the Royals, the home site for the playoff game will be determined by a coin flip on Wednesday night, since Augsburg and St. Olaf will be tied for fourth place with 13-9 conference records, and will also be tied in each of the three playoff tiebreakers prior to the coin flip.