Rock Island, Ill. (4/18) – The Thunder softball team dropped a pair of games in a CCIW doubleheader at Augustana College on Wednesday afternoon. The Vikings defeated Wheaton 11-2 in the opener as the hosts scored 11 runs, on 12 hits, with two errors and Wheaton scored two runs, on five hits, with three errors. Augustana secured the sweep of the twinbill with 9-1 victory in the nightcap. The Vikings scored nine runs, with 11 hits and no errors, while the Thunder scored one run, on four hits and the guests committed four errors.
Augustana is now 19-12 overall and 5-3 in the CCIW. Wheaton is 15-15 on the year, with a 3-5 record in league play. The Thunder will host Millikin on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM in a key CCIW doubleheader at Ruth Leedy Field.
In the Vikings' 11-2 win in the first game, Wheaton scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take 2-0 lead. In the third, junior Sarah Callicutt hit a one-out double and Lauren Hein hit a single that advanced Callicutt to third base. Callicutt scored on a Viking error and Hein crossed the plate when junior Trinity Pierce followed with a double. Augustana quickly countered with three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-2 lead. The Vikings scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 6-2. The hosts plated five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to account for the 11-2 final score.
Callicutt continued her strong effort at the plate by going 2-for-3, with two doubles and a run scored. Pierce was 2-for-2, with a walk and a run driven in. Hein accounted for Wheaton's fifth hit with her third-inning single. Thunder starting pitcher Kim Hegna (6-4) took the loss in four innings of work. The junior allowed six runs, on seven hits. Fellow junior Beth Miller tossed 2/3 of an inning of relief, allowing five runs, on five hits.
The Vikings scored two runs apiece in the second, third and fourth innings to jump out to a 6-0 lead in their 9-1 victory in the second game. A RBI-single by Miller on the bottom of the fourth inning accounted for Wheaton's lone run of the game. The hosts added two runs in the top of the sixth inning and added another run in the top of the seventh for the 9-1 final score.
Freshman Alissa Sharp was 2-for-2 with a walk to lead the Thunder at the plate. Singles by Miller and Pierce accounted for Wheaton's four hits in the game. Thunder pitcher Sara Hoffman (2-6) took the loss in seven innings of work. She allowed nine runs, with six earned runs, on 11 hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.
