CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Softball dropped both ends of its CCIW doubleheader against Augustana on Saturday at the Holmgren Athletic Complex, falling 4-2 in the opener before 7-4 in game two.
Game 1 — Augustana 4, North Park 2
North Park landed its first punch in the bottom of the first, after Augie got on the board with Madi Bickell's RBI single in the first at-bats of the day. Senior left fielder Eden Baker worked a walk and later swiped second. Freshman second baseman Miabella Collazo drew a four-pitch walk before senior catcher Katie Patton ripped a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line to give North Park a 2-1 lead.
Augie responded right away and then took control in the second. After manufacturing a run in the first, Augie opened the second with Lilli Burton's leadoff triple, then Lindsay LaVine drove her in with an RBI single to tie it. Moments later, Aubrey Gradin punched an RBI single through the left side to push Augie in front.
Augie added the final run in the third when a string of singles set up Alexis Duke's RBI single up the middle, making it 4-2.
North Park's bullpen kept the score from getting away as freshman Abrianne Papas settled in with 4.2 scoreless innings in relief and the Vikings made some big plays on defense.
However, Augie's Mya Brown went the distance in the circle and limited North Park to two hits after the first inning surge.
Game 2 — Augustana 7, North Park 4
The nightcap featured big swings and another program milestone on Senior Day.
Augie broke through first in the second inning when Emma Evans reached and scored on Burton's RBI single to right field. North Park answered in the home half with history as Baker tripled to left-center for an RBI, recording the 16th triple of her career to break North Park's career triples record and tie the game a 1-1.
Augie regained the lead in the third on a solo home run to left-center by Gradin, and the game turned in the fourth. With traffic on the bases, Gradin delivered a two-run double to right-center, and Olivia Osborne followed with an RBI single to center to cap a three-run inning and extend the advantage.
Augie added two more in the fifth, highlighted by LaVine's RBI double and Duke's RBI single, pushing the margin to 7-2.
North Park mounted a late rally in the seventh. Three-straight singles by senior center fielder Kayla Sapolu, senior shortstop Kayla Lorenz, and Collazo loaded the bases, and North Park scored on a wild pitch before senior right fielder Sydney Snyder knocked an RBI single to bring home another run and cut the deficit to 7-4. However, Lauren Koster worked out of trouble to give Augustana the game two win.
Top Performers
North Park
- Patton — G1: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; G2: 1-3, BB
- Baker — G1: 0-3, R, BB, SB; G2: 2-4, 3B, RBI
- Papas (P) — G1: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K; G2: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 K
Augie
- Gradin — G1: 1-4, RBI; G2: 2-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
- LaVine — G1: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB; G2: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R
- Brown (P) — G1: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 K (W, CG)
What's Next?
North Park (15-23, 6-8 CCIW) rounds out the regular season and looks to grab a spot in the conference tournament with a pair of games in Decatur at Millikin University. First pitch at Workman Family Softball Field is set for 1:00 PM CT.
