GRAND FORKS, N.D. ? The Fighting Sioux softball team lost two games to Augustana, 5-4 and 9-8. Abby Rehberger (So., Brainerd, Minn.) went 4-7 with two homeruns in the doubleheader for UND.
Game 1 ? Augustana ? 5 North Dakota ? 4
North Dakota took the early lead in game one, but Augustana rallied for the 5-4 victory.
Nicole Puerling (Jr., Camarillo, Calif.) got the Sioux on the board in the first inning by hitting a sacrifice fly to score Abby Rehberger. With the run batted in, Puerling broke the Fighting Sioux career record for RBIs with 103 career runs batted in. Puerling broke Jennifer Soderquist's (2000-2003) record of 102 career RBIs.
Augustana rallied in the top of the third inning by getting a three-run homerun from Alli Hubers. Hubers knocked in Kayla Henke and Ally Rutherford who both reached on singles.
North Dakota answered back in their half of the third inning on solo homeruns from Rehberger and Puerling. Puerling's ninth homerun of the season tied the Fighting Sioux single-season homerun record, held by teammate Casie Hanson (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.).
Augustana added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning. Hubers lead of the inning with a single up the middle. Hubers advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Traci Fransen. Erin Bohlmann singled to second base to advance Hubers to third. Mickey Anderson doubled to right field to score Hubers and advanced Fransen to third base. Fransen would score on Jenna Turner's sacrifice fly to left field. Fransen's run would prove to be the game-winning run in the contest.
UND had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Sioux managed to score only one run in the inning. Nicole Larson (So., Oakdale, Minn.) lead off the fifth inning with a double to right-centerfield. Rehberger's double moved Larson up to third base. Casie Hanson drove in Larson with a sacrifice fly to left field for the Sioux's final fun in the contest.
Alicia Pearce (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) took the loss for North Dakota after pitching 2 1/3 innings. Hannah-Rose Peters (Fr., Santa Monica, Calif.) pitched the final 4.2 innings for the Sioux, allowing the final two Augustana runs. Peters gets the loss in the contest and falls to 4-3 on the season.
Game 2 ? Augustana 9 North Dakota ? 8
UND starting pitcher Michele Wolf (So., Lakeville, Minn.) held the Augustana bats scoreless through four innings, but in the fifth inning; the Vikings scored five runs en route to the 9-8 victory.
The Sioux put two runs on the board in the first inning, courtesy of two Augustana errors. Abby Rehberger and Rhonda Nelk (So., Wheaton, Minn.) scored the first two runs for North Dakota.
In the third inning, Rehberger tied the North Dakota single-season homerun record with a blast to left-center. Rehberger ties teammates Casie Hanson and Nicole Puerling with nine homeruns in a season.
After four scoreless innings, the Augustana bats came alive in the fifth inning. Jenna Turner lead off the top of the fifth with a homerun to right-center. After two Augie players reached base, Ally Rutherford hit a triple to right-centerfield to score Kayla Henke and Erika Wolner. With two outs, Traci Fransen came through with a two-run homerun to left field to put the Vikings up 5-3. The Sioux went down quietly in their half of the inning.
Augustana added three insurance runs in the sixth inning on four hits.
North Dakota pulled within one run in the bottom of the sixth inning on back-to-back sacrifice flys by Rehberger and Nelk. After the sacrifice flys, Nicole Puerling was hit-by-a-pitch. Lindsey Gaustad (So., Fergus Falls, Minn.) hit a two-run bomb to left field to bring the Sioux within one, 8-7.
Jenny Turner provided the game-winning run in the top of the seventh inning with a double to right-centerfield to Erin Bohlmann. Bohlmann reached base via fielder's choice.
The Sioux wouldn't go down easy as Amber Roth (So., Shoreview, Minn.) lead off the bottom half of the seventh inning with a line drive up the middle for a base hit. After the next two Sioux hitters got out, Hannah-Rose Peters stroked a pinch-hit double to score Roth from first. Peters advanced to third base on a throwing error by the Augustana left fielder. With two outs and the game-tying run on third, the final Sioux batter flew out to centerfield to end the game.
With the sweep, Augustana improves to 15-18 overall and 3-4 in the North Central Conference. UND falls to 14-30 overall and 1-9 in the NCC.
The Sioux softball team will return to action on Monday with a doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth in Duluth, Minn. The first game will start at 2 p.m. and game two will being around 4 p.m.
