SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana softball team split with Concordia-St. Paul Monday at Bowden Field. The Vikings won game one 11-8 and fell 9-1 in game two.
 
Augustana is now 18-9 on the season and 5-1 in the NSIC. Concordia-St. Paul is 18-13, 4-2.
 
Game One: Augustana 11, Concordia-St. Paul 8
In contrast to two portions of the game, Augustana came out with a three-run victory. Augustana opened a 10-0 lead over four innings. Andrea Cain crossed home plate in the bottom of the first while scoring on a wild pitch.
 
The Vikings then scored six runs in the bottom of the second highlighted by a grand slam. Kennedy Buckman hit a solo home run to make the score 2-0. A few batters later, Gracey Brink pushed in Sydney Herbert. Again, a few batters later, Delaney Young powered a towering bases-loaded home run over the left-field fence. The grand slam is the first in the new Bowden Field while she was also the first home run at the new stadium on Sunday.
 
With the grand slam, AU led 7-0 after two innings.
 
The score then pushed 8-0 after Young doubled to right-center to score Torri Chute. Following Young, Kennedy Buckman singled up the middle to score Bergen Lindner and Young for the 10-0 lead.
 
Augustana then withstood a surge from Concordia-St. Paul as the Golden Bears scored seven unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings. AU tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth. But that was offset by a run in the top of the seventh for the final score of 11-8.
 
Hailey Houston picked up the win for AU, pitching six innings and striking out five.
 
Buckman was four-for-four at the plate with four RBI while Young was three-for-three with five RBI.
 
Game Two: Concordia-St. Paul 9, Augustana 1
In complete contrast to the previous games in Augustana’s win streak, nothing could go right for AU in Monday’s second game.
 
Augustana led 1-0 after the first inning after a Torri Chute single and Andrea Cain run scored. However, from there, the Golden Bears scored in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
 
Augustana totaled six hits while allowing 11 by CSP. Of Augustana’s six hits, three were off the bat of Andrea Cain in a 3-for-4 performance with the run scored.  
 
Up next
The Vikings travel to Winona, Minnesota, on Wednesday to face Winona State in a doubleheader slated for a 3 p.m. start.