Softball dominates in doubleheader
The Augustana softball team (30-13, 15-1 NSIC) earned its fifth-straight sweep on Saturday, crushing Minot State University (15-11, 10-4 NSIC). The Vikings run-ruled the Beavers in six innings and again in five, both by a score of 9-1.
In game two on April 6, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead. In the first inning, the team recorded four hits, with two of them being home runs. A lead off a home run gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Just three batters later, fifth-year catcher and infielder Torri Chute hit a three-run home run to make the score 4-0.
“We knew Minot State is a good team and the keys were to attack early and often at the plate and play good defense,” Chute said.
Minot State responded in the third inning with a single run from a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to three.
The Vikings continued their dominance at the plate, tallying four more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to make the score 8-1.
“Minot State was a team that was coming in with a lot of confidence and was playing very well,” head coach Gretta Melsted said. “You could just see that they felt confident going into the game, but we took a team that felt hot right now and we just doused the fire.”
Augustana finished the Beavers off in the fifth, scoring the game-ending run and capping off the series sweep with a 9-1 victory.
“We had success by putting pressure on their defense and hitting the ball hard. We weren’t getting ourselves out, and I tell our players this all the time just to keep punching,” Melsted said. “We won’t land every punch, but eventually they will land.”
In the first game of the double header, the Vikings were dominant in the circle with senior pitcher Grace Glanzer pitching a complete game to earn her 13th win of the season.
The Vikings started scoring in the second inning with a solo shot from fifth-year catcher and outfielder Gracey Brink to take the lead 1-0. In the third, they tacked on two more runs to stretch the lead 3-0. The Vikings continued to pour it on in the fourth inning with another homerun to make the score 4-0.
“The key to hitting against Minot State was for our hitters to hunt their pitch, pick a side of the plate, find their pitch and drive it,” junior pitcher Hailey Houston said.
Chute continued the scoring for the Vikings in the fifth as she recorded an RBI double to push the Vikings’ lead to five.
The Beavers tried to muster a rally and found a run in the sixth inning, but the Vikings didn’t let off the gas. In the bottom of the sixth, the Vikings punched back and tallied four more runs to end the game 9-1.
“When we attack pitches early in our at-bats and can be in control of our at-bats, that’s when we find the most success,” sophomore infielder and pitcher Haley Grimmius said. “We often talk about the three parts of the game a lot, which are hitting, fielding and pitching. When we have all three of those, we are successful.”
