Softball debuts spring season

After earning the NSIC championship title for the third consecutive year in 2023, the Augustana softball team earned a No. 1 preseason ranking for 2024 — making it the sixth time the Vikings have been picked as the preseason favorite in the past 12 years.

Now eight games into the 2024 season, the Vikings have secured an overall record of 4-4. 

The team most recently competed in a doubleheader against the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Feb. 5 with a win of 6-0 and loss of 5-2. 

Starting pitcher senior Grace Glanzer did not allow a single hit for Arkansas until the fourth inning and completed the game with 11 strikeouts in six innings. 

“I’m a pitcher who does get a lot of ground ball outs and pop flies, so I have to rely on my defense,” Glanzer said. “For the most part, being a first weekend out, our defense was solid and that takes a lot of pressure off of you as a pitcher.”

The Vikings scored two runs in their opening inning by junior Andrea Cain and senior Gracey Brink. In the third inning, senior Kennedy Buckman hit a double to bring Brink home. 

Freshman Desi Cuevas scored a double and cleared the bases of Cain and junior Liz Dierks in the fourth inning. For the final run, Buckman scored her second home run of the season to end the game with a shutout win. 

In their second game against Arkansas, the Vikings were able to fight and tie things up at 2-2 in the second inning. Dierks and Cain were on base when Brink pushed them to score by hitting a double. 

“I think it’s important knowing that I’m going to give my all to the team and the team’s going to give their all to me and we’re each giving everyone our best on that day,” Brink said. 

Arkansas continued its lead by scoring three more runs in the final innings, stealing the win. 

“The first week and a half of the season has been exciting,” Dierks said. “While there are improvements to be made, our experience in Louisiana and Arkansas instilled the confidence in every player that we can compete with any opponent.” 

The Vikings began their season at the Mardi Gras Invitational in Youngsville, Louisiana on Feb. 1-4. The team played their first game against No. 22 Oklahoma Baptist University and started strong with a win of 4-0. Glanzer struck out six with no walks and allowed two hits. Buckman hit her first home run of the season. 

“We knew we were going to be playing some of the best competition,” Glanzer said. “We plan and prep for those pitchers, those hitters, but sometimes we kind of forget that we just need to play our own game.” 

The team later fell to the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders with a score of 8-0. The Muleriders tallied 8 hits, including four homeruns, while the Vikings recorded four hits with none brought home.  

Each of the Vikings’ six opponents in the tournament made it to the NCAA tournament in 2023. 

“Most people don’t start off a season playing six teams that made it to a regional tournament. I think, just looking at the competition that we faced, that was a tough opener,” head coach Gretta Melsted said. “But yes, there were some very high highs and there were some [lows] a little bit too, something that was really good because it exposed where, I call it, our chinks in our armor.” 

The Vikings continued into the invitational with Brink hitting a homerun against No. 3 University of Central Oklahoma for a 2-1 win. 

“It was super fun, especially with a home run. Everyone gets super excited and everything,” Brink said. “I think it just sets us up well for knowing that we can compete at that level and work together and do well.” 

To end the invitational, the Vikings played a double header, losing against No. 24 Mississippi College with a score of 1-0 but winning 7-2 against Southeastern Oklahoma State University. 

“Our challenge right now is trying to figure out how we can have two solid games back-to-back right now,” Glanzer said. “We’re getting there, but we are picking ourselves apart a little bit just to see where the finer adjustments come in because we’re a good team.”

Against Mississippi College, Glanzer tossed the whole game with four hits and striking out six. Mississippi College was able to score the one point due to a sacrificial fly ball in the bottom of the third inning. 

“It felt good that our defense was pretty darn solid the first weekend because that’s not always the way it goes,” Melsted said. “When you’re up North and you’re inside for the most part, you don’t have a chance to really be on a field or anything like that. So a lot of times your defense in that first week may struggle a bit, but we need to be able to step in some big moments and be consistent.” 

With the turnaround against Mississippi College, the Vikings came in strong against Southeastern Oklahoma State. With a score of 1-0 favoring Oklahoma in the top of the second inning, Augustana came back quick with four runs in the bottom half. Dierks brought up the advantage with the fourth run of the game. 

The Vikings earned three more runs in the sixth inning from Dierks, graduate student Nicole Bellis and Cain to celebrate the final 7-2 score. 

“We faced many great pitchers in Louisiana, so we were challenged at the plate to make minor adjustments,” Dierks said. “I am looking forward to continue to step on the field with my teammates, as we are aware of the enormous potential we have this season.” 

The Augustana Vikings will return to the field at the Washburn Invite in Topeka, Kansas, from Feb. 23-25. 

“It’s an exciting team,” Melsted said. “Hopefully when things warm up a little bit and we can get outside, we can get people to come out and watch us because there’s gonna be some really good softball here.”