ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus softball team was swept by Augsburg on Friday night at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. The losses drop the Gusties to 10-24 overall and 6-14 in the MIAC, while the Auggies improve to 19-17 overall and 11-9 in the league.
The Gusties held a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but a two-run single by the home team resulted in a walk-off victory for the Auggies.
Gustavus got on the board in the first inning as Marissa Marsolek (Fy., Savage, Minn.) singled home Kim Kurtzweg (Sr., Arlington, Minn.). Augsburg responded with two runs in the bottom half on four hits. The Gusties then tied the game in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Kurtzweg to score Ashley Beise (Jr., Loretto, Minn.) and then took the lead in the seventh. Kurtzweg drove in her second run of the game, plating Caitlin Kammerer (So., Watertown, Minn.), before the Auggies won it in the bottom half.
Aly Freeman (So., Omaha, Neb.) took the mound loss, lasting six innings with three earned runs on seven hits. She struck out three and walked four batters. Kurtzweg (2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B) and Marsolek (2-3, RBI, SB) paced the offense.
Gustavus 3, Augsburg 11 (6 inn.)
Augsburg scored in the first inning and never trailed in the six-inning affair. The Gusties tied the score at 1-1 in the second inning as Taylor Shortly (Sr., Forest Lake, Minn.) singled home Beise. The home team then regained the lead for good in the fourth inning with a run and then broke the game open in the fifth with six runs on four hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.
Gustavus scored two runs in the sixth as Kammerer homered to left field for her second round-tripper of the season, but the Auggies ended the game in the bottom half with three more runs.
Freeman suffered the pitching loss again, going five innings with seven runs allowed on as many hits. She led the team at the plate, going 2-for-3.
Gustavus concludes the season Sunday at Carleton. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.