MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The UW-River Falls softball team won both games of its doubleheader against Augsburg on Thursday, March 27 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The wins marked seven straight victories for the Falcons, who improved to 13-7 on the season.
Two high-scoring games, the Falcons won 14-8 and 10-1 in a strong offensive day. Pitchers Lindsey Duggan and Brooklyn VanGruensven both picked up their fifth wins of the year, while Kelly Aultman tallied seven hits, four RBIs and two runs across the two wins.
UW-River Falls 14, Augsburg 8
The first game of the doubleheader was a high-scoring affair right from the start. The Falcons rattled off four runs in the top of the first inning, doing so off an RBI groundout from Caitlyn Kressel, an error on a Kelly Aultman flyout, a passed ball, and an RBI-single from Ella Woida to make it 4-0. However, a three-run home run in the bottom of the first by the Auggies immediately trimmed UWRF's lead back to just one run.
The Falcons answered the call, scoring three more runs in the top of the second — Kressel, Hannah Effertz, and Addi DeMeyer all picked up RBIs to extend the lead back to 7-3. Once again, Augsburg remained resilient and scored three runs in the bottom of the second, this time off a two-run home run and an RBI-double. The Falcons led 7-6 after two.
The Falcons extended their lead to 8-6 in the top of the third, as Grace Gardner executed a sacrifice bunt to score Alexa Dusterhoft. UWRF's lead grew to 9-6 in the following inning, this time earning the run off a solo shot to right field by Aultman, her sixth home run of the year. Just two at-bats later, Abby Pitts hit a solo home run to extend the advantage to 10-6.
The Auggies made things interesting in the bottom of the fifth, tacking on two more runs off an RBI-single and a sacrifice hit to cut UWRF's lead down to 10-8.
Brooklyn VanGruensven pitched the entire seven innings for the Falcons, including a scoreless final two innings in which she allowed just one hit and struck out two batters. VanGruensven's tough pitching at the end of the game, alongside a four-run seventh inning, helped the Falcons secure the victory by a 14-8 scoreline. UWRF scored off a sacrifice-fly from Gardner, a two-RBI-double by Kressel, and an RBI-double from Effertz.
VanGruensven earned the win, her fifth of the season. She finished with seven strikeouts.
At the plate, Kressel led the way with four RBIs and two runs. Gardner and Aultman both finished with two RBIs and two runs. Effertz also tallied two RBIs off three hits.
UW-River Falls 10, Augsburg 1
Similar to game one, the Falcons got the scoring started right off the bat in the top of the first — a wild pitch scored Kayla Dolan, before Aultman doubled to score a run, giving UWRF a 2-0 lead. The Auggies got on the board in the bottom of the second, utilizing a solo home run to cut the Falcons' lead to 2-1 after two innings.
The Falcons added a run in the top of the third off an Aultman RBI-single, and an Effertz sacrifice hit extended the lead to 4-1 latrine the top of the fifth.
UWRF started to pull away in the top of the sixth, as Woida hit an RBI-triple and Dolan scored an RBI-single on the following at-bat, increasing UWRF's lead to 6-1. A two-RBI-single by Woida in the top of the seventh extended the lead to 8-1, before a single by Dolan scored two more runs to bring the Falcons' lead to 10-1. Alexa Dusterhoft came in to pitch a scoreless final half inning, securing the nine-run victory and a sweep of the doubleheader.
Dolan led UWRF with a 3-5 performance at the plate, along with three RBIs and one run. Aultman went 4-4 with two RBIs, capping off a seven-hit day.
Lindsey Duggan improved to 5-3 on the year, pitching a stellar six innings in which she allowed just one run off three hits — she struck out five batters.
Up next, the Falcons are back in action again in the Twin Cities tomorrow afternoon. UWRF will face Macalester on the road for a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.
