Huskies split with No. 2 Augustana

Friday, April 2

St. Cloud, Minn.

12 p.m.

St. Cloud State

12-5, 1-2

Augustana University (SD)

14-3, 2-1

Augustana

St. Cloud State

Head coach Paula U'Ren and Jasmin Estrada celebrate her home run in the first game against Augustana

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

4/2/2021 6:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - There are many ways for a team to earn its first conference win of the 2021 softball season. The St. Cloud State University softball team may have found the sweetest. The Huskies split their second Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) doubleheader with Augustana University, handing the nationally ranked Vikings their first conference loss of the 2021 season. The team did so in dramatic fashion, as St. Cloud State used a late inning rally to beat Augustana 7-6 in seven innings in game one before falling in game two by a final score of 6-1.

The Huskies fell behind early in game one, as the Vikings scored an unearned run in the top of the second inning for an early 1-0 lead. Augustana's Tori Chute reached on an uncharacteristic error by Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a bloop single by Amanda Dickmeyer to give the Vikings the early lead.

St. Cloud State wasn't deterred, as the gritty Huskies went ahead and tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third. Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) hit a one out single to give St. Cloud State a base runner with Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska) at the plate. The junior outfielder didn't even need to put the ball in play to advance to Trees, as she made it all the way to third on a passed ball to get in scoring position for the Huskies.

That was enough for Bowlin. The junior put the ball in play, allowing Trees to score from third and even the score 1-1. Augustana, though, responded by putting up five runs in the top of the fifth, seemingly taking a definitive 6-1 advantage on a double by Gracey Brink and home run by Mary Pardo.

St. Cloud State was not deterred, though, as the team slowly but surely ticked away at the Vikings lead. Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) kicked things off in the bottom of the fourth, as her leadoff home run in the inning cut the Augustana lead to 6-2. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield) and Vanden Langenberg hit back-to-back home runs, cutting the Vikings lead to 6-5 with two innings remaining in the ball game.

Lauren Kirchberg (Columbus, Wis. / Columbus) kept Augustana off the scoreboard in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, giving her team the chance to take the lead or, at the very least, tie the game in the bottom of the second. The Huskies looked to do just that, as Bowlin tallied a one-out double to put a runner in scoring position for the dangerous Estrada.

Estrada battled through her at bat, eventually mustering a single to advance Bowlin to third. With runners on first and third and Vanden Langenberg at the plate, the odds seemed ever in St. Cloud State's favor. The junior delivered a clutch RBI single, scoring Bowlin and getting Estrada to third with Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) coming to the plate.

With Conrads at the plate and Estrada at third, the Huskies and head coach Paula U'Ren had plenty of options. The verteran coach chose to win with small ball, keeping Estrada at third to run rather than putting in a pinch runner. The move paid off. Conrads laid down the perfect squeeze bunt and Estrada beat the throw home, winning the game 7-6 and handing Augustana its first loss in 11 games.

Kirchberg earned the win in game one, throwing 3.1 flawless innings in the victory. Bowlin, Estrada, Vanden Langenberg and Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) tallied multiple hits in the victory, with Vanden Langenberg going 3-4 with two runs and three RBI.

The Huskies were unable to come away with the sweep Friday afternoon, as they fell to the Vikings 6-1 in the second game of the day. Like game one, Augustana scored a run in the second to take an early 1-0 lead. Unlike game one, the Vikings scored five unanswered runs before St. Cloud State scored its first, as they put up three runs in the third for a 5-0 lead.

The Huskies eventually cut the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth, as Estrada hit a monster home run over the left field fence to slice the Augustana lead to four runs. The Vikings answered with a home run of their own in the top of the seventh, and St. Cloud State just couldn't recover, resulting in the 6-1 loss.

Vanden Langenberg stayed hot in game two, as she went 2-3 at the plate, while Estrada, Conrads, Weinberger and Alexandra Pinkowski (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) all tallied one hit in the game.

With the split, the Huskies overall record improves to 12-6, and the team is now 1-3 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to action on Saturday, as it hosts Wayne State College at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The game is currently scheduled to be played at historic Selke Field should the weather continue to cooperate.