Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU Kaylee Hentges swings at a pitch during their doubleheader against Augustana on Wednesday.

MARSHALL – After spending their past two games in the warm weather on Saturday, the Southwest Minnesota State University softball team saw Mother Nature throw a mixture of rain and cool temperatures at them during their doubleheader against Augustana University on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite the cooling weather patterns, the Mustangs managed to stay hot on the offensive end throughout the afternoon. Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep pace with the Vikings as SMSU fell in Game 1 9-7 before getting swept with a 13-5 loss in Game 2.

The opener saw the Vikings jump on the board first in the top of the second with a trio of runs to take a 3-0 lead. SMSU battled back with runs in the third and fourth innings to cut the deficit to 3-2.

In the top of the fifth, however, Augustana scored another three runs to extend its lead to 6-2. The Mustangs would not back down, though, as they scored five runs in the frame.

Tori Brooks started off the inning with a single. After a stolen base by Brooks, Emma Grote brought in her teammate with an RBI single. Later, Sam Flack connected on a two RBI single to bring the Mustangs a little closer before a Mackenzie Clouse two-run shot to left field gave SMSU its first lead of the afternoon at 7-6.

But once again, Augustana had an answer come in the form of three runs, as Shannon Peterson of AU blasted a three-run home run in the top of the sixth to reclaim the lead for the Vikings at 9-7, a score which would stand as the final.

Alex O’Connor took the start and went six innings while Megan Cull came in relief for the final inning for the Mustangs.

SMSU collected 10 hits in the opener, with Brooks, Clouse and Grote each recording a pair.

In Game 2, it was another tightly contested affair, with the game being decided in the late innings. After both teams got a run across in the first inning, the Vikings took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the second to give themselves a 5-1 advantage.

SMSU got another run in the bottom of the second, but Augustana responded with a run of its own in the next inning to make it a four-run game.

The Mustangs would continue to fight, however, as they put together a string of hits that ultimately turned into three runs to climb back into the ballgame.

Unfortunately for SMSU, that was as close as they got, as the Vikings scored seven runs in the top half of the seventh to break the game open en route to the 13-5 final.

Kaylee Hentges led the way for the Mustangs on offense, as she went 2 for 3 with two RBI. The Mustangs were outhit 18-8 in the nightcap by the Vikings.

Athena Golling got the start in Game 2 for SMSU and went 6.1 innings. O’Connor and Shelby Crank came in relief for the Mustangs.

SMSU coach Jamie Dunn said she was proud of her team’s effort despite the final scores.

“The score doesn’t reflect our team effort. I was proud of our effort; we were right there in both games and that was the most runs we’ve ever scored against Augustana’s pitching staff,” Dunn said. “Our girls never gave up even when we got down, it never felt like we were really out of it.”

Despite the number of hits by Augustana and the slippery conditions, the Mustangs only committed two errors on the day. Grote said throughout the day, her team made sure to continue to provide support and motivation for one another.

“We were really working together; everyone was picking each other up even if there was an error,” Grote said. “We just said ‘I got your back and we’ll get the next one.'”

Grote added their key on the offensive end was finding the right pitch and taking a good swing at it.

“We were really getting in there and finding our pitch. If it was an inside pitch, we wanted to rip it inside; if it was an outside pitch, we wanted to rip it outside,” Grote said. “We just found our pitch, got up there and gave it everything we got.”

SMSU (15-15) will hit the road this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders against the University of Mary and Minot State University on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

“This is a really big weekend for us,” Dunn said. “We’re going to Mary and Minot, and we’re all really close in the standings. If we can gain the two games we dropped today and get back to .500 or above .500 that keeps us in the conference tournament. That’s our goal and we’re at the halfway point so we have to keep our sights set on that.”

Game 1

Augustana 9, SMSU 7

Augustana 030 033 0 — 9 14 1

SMSU 001 150 0 — 7 10 2

HITTING (AB-R-H-RBI-BB): SMSU (Brooks 4-2-2-0-0; Grote 4-1-2-1-0; Decker 3-0-1-0-0; Koloc 4-1-1-0-0; Flack 3-1-1-2-0; Clouse 3-1-2-2-0; DeSmet 0-1-0-0-0; Krog 3-0-0-0-0; Carroll 2-0-0-1-1; Hentges 3-0-1-0-0; O’Connor 0-0-0-0-0; Cull 0-0-0-0-0).

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO): SMSU (O’Connor 6.0-10-6-2-1-3; Cull 1.0-4-3-3-0-1).

Game 2

Augustana 13, SMSU 5

Augustana 141 000 7 — 13 18 0

SMSU 110 030 0 — 5 8 0

HITTING (AB-R-H-RBI-BB): SMSU (Brooks 3-1-0-0-1; Grote 4-0-1-0-0; Decker 4-0-1-1-0; Koloc 3-0-0-0-0; Williams 1-0-0-0-0; Flack 2-1-1-0-2; Clouse 4-0-1-1-0; DeSmet 0-1-0-0-0; Krog 2-2-1-1-2; Carroll 3-0-1-0-0; Hentges 3-0-2-2-0; Golling 0-0-0-0-0; O’Connor 0-0-0-0-0; Crank 0-0-0-0-0).

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO): SMSU (Golling 6.1-14-9-9-2-2; O’Connor 0.0-3-4-4-1-0; Crank 0.2-1-0-0-0-1).