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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 16 Augustana was shut out by Samantha Derr, the Daktronics Pitcher of the Year, as it fell to No. 3 Kutztown (Pa.), 4-0 in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Softball National Tournament on Wednesday.
Augustana, which has been shut out just three times this season, drops to 53-11 while KU improves to 51-5.
Ashley Meyer (27-4) started the game for Augustana and gave up four runs on five hits while striking out five.
Derr used strong team defense by KU, including a triple play, to improve to 29-3 for the season as she limited Augustana to four hits.
Only one inning produced scoring for KU as they put up four off Meyer in the top of the second. Derr started the offense for KU with a single up the middle and moved to second on a walk by Maria Isgro. Left fielder Brianna Knipe then drove a shot over the right-center fence to put KU up 3-0. The fourth run of the inning was scored by Jackie Hetzler, who doubled and later came home after a ground ball out by Kelly Strittmatter.
Augustanaleads the nation with 80 home runs but had only extra-base hit from Chelsi Winskowski, who was 1 for 2 with a double.
Augustana's biggest threat came in the bottom of the second when Jenelle Trautmann and Lindsay Spanton led off with back-to-back singles, but Kelsey Kalkman lined out to third baseman Kelly Fitzgerald, who put in motion a 4-3-6 triple play.
The Vikings will play the loser of today's matchup between No. 1 Valdosta State and No. 24 UC-San Diego.
Courtesy: Augustana
