Latest news with #LexiLander
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vikings shutout Lions for bid to Super Regionals
MAGNOLIA, Ark. (AUGUSTANA) – As the three seed in the region and sixth team in the nation, Augustana softball completed the sweep of the NCAA Central Region tournament with a 4-0 defeat of Missouri Southern State on Saturday afternoon. The win qualifies the Vikings for its second straight Super Regional tournament appearance where they are set to face Central Oklahoma on May 15 and 16. It also improves their season record to 49-9 overall and pushes the team's win streak to 24 in a row. Augustana collected seven hits off the Lions as Lexi Lander and Stella Harber each tallied two apiece and Andrea Cain, Desi Cuevas and Ella Cooper combined for three. Cain and Harber totaled four RBI between them as Cain and Dierks each drew a walk and Cuevas and Cooper both logged a stolen base. Grace Glanzer took the win in the circle after seven innings pitched. She struck out seven of her just 24 batters faced while throwing 85 pitches on the day. As the visiting team on the scoreboard, Cuevas knocked an early base hit and stole her way to second base in the first inning, but the inning would stall there. Neither team would get past second base—or score—until the top of the fourth. An error and a wild pitch put Hailey Houston on second base just before Cooper knocked a single through the left side and stole second to put two runners in scoring position. That brought up Harber, who knocked a base hit through the right side to score both runners and officially open up scoring at 2-0. The Lions again fell in 1-2-3 fashion—as they did five times in seven innings—as Glanzer continued to light it up from the pitching mound. But the Vikings were also unable to score…until the top of the seventh. Liz Dierks drew a four-pitch walk, forcing a pitching change and bringing Cain up to bat. Facing a full count, the junior smoked a two-run homer out of the park to clear the bases and put the Vikings up by the eventual-final score of 4-0. MSSU was able to put runners on first and third in the bottom half of action, but a foul out to Cooper and a fly out to Cuevas would end things and advance the Vikings postseason to another weekend. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Seven-run first propels Augustana to consecutive titles
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Augustana softball won its second straight NSIC championship this weekend with a 12-1 victory over Winona State. Early offense propelled the Vikings. They batted around before an out was recorded in the bottom of the first inning, all leading to seven runs. 'We were ready to attack from the get go,' Augustana graduate student Lexi Lander said. 'First pitch, that's kind of our thing, attack every single pitch. And so we were just ready to jump on them early from the get go. And I think that's kind of what helped propel us throughout the whole game.' 'The ball at that point looks like a beach ball for the kids when they're hitting,' Augustana head coach Gretta Melsted said. 'And it just it makes your defense be able to play a little bit freer. Your pitchers can play a little bit freer.' Augustana, who has finished first in the conference five straight seasons, claimed its fourth tournament title in the last decade. 'I don't think it ever will because we just did so much energy into these games, especially at home,' Augustana sophomore outfielder Desi Cuevas said. 'We always want to win here. We just did that.' 'It is so special,' Lander said. 'That's kind of culture here at Augie, where we play to compete to play hard and go after teams. And that's exactly what we did this weekend.' The championship game victory marks 21 straight wins for the Vikings. And they feel as though that streak is an indication of their upward trajectory heading into the NCAA regionals. 'It's exciting to watch our players just get better and better,' Melsted said. 'And I feel like we're playing our best softball right now. We're just doing this, and that's what you want to do at this time of year.' 'We definitely had our ups and downs throughout the season,' Augustana graduate pitcher Grace Glanzer said. 'A lot of youth, a lot of learning, a lot of getting to know each other a little bit on the field. And I think as hard as that was at times, it's prepared us for now.' Augustana will open Central Regional play against Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo., on Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Augustana softball rolls Duluth, advances to NSIC title game
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AUGUSTANA) — Top-seeded Augustana turned up the firepower in the fifth inning to break the tie and take down fifth-seeded Minnesota Duluth by a score of 8-2 in the NSIC Softball Tournament semifinals on Friday afternoon at Bowden Field. The Vikings combined for nine hits in six innings of plate action, led by Lexi Lander and Sidney Smart's two hits apiece. Andrea Cain collected two RBI, one homerun, one walk with one hit by pitch while scoring two runs. Ella Cooper led with nine putouts and Norah Christiansen added in three assists. Grace Glanzer continued her dominant season with her 23rd win in the circle after five innings of work. She tallied six strikeouts alongside five fly outs and five groundouts against 18 batters faced and allowed just two hits. Lexi Lander also made an appearance, pitching two innings and downing all six batters in order. The defenses put on a strong showing through the first two innings of action, allowing just one combined runner on base after a drawn walk. The first two hits of the contest came off the Bulldog bats in the top of the third inning where Minnesota Duluth homered and doubled down the right field line to go up 2-0. But then the Augustana bats came alive. Sidney Smart doubled to right center to open up the bottom of the third inning. Andrea Cain made the most of the opportunity like she has all weekend and continued her hot streak with a two-run homerun over the left field fence to tie up the game at 2-2. After each squad was downed in three-up, three-down fashion, the Vikings again exploded in the fifth inning, circling through their entire batting order. Smart sent a single through the left side and soon advanced to second base off a sacrifice bunt from Liz Dierks. Cain joined her on base after drawing a walk to bring Desi Cuevas up to bat. Her shot up the middle scored Smart to break the tie and put herself and Cain in scoring position. A single from Lander through the right side brought in both base runners and made it a 5-3 advantage for the Vikings, forcing a pitching change from Minnesota Duluth. Back-to-back singles from Ashton Dorman and Ella Cooper loaded the bases and was followed by a single, a sacrifice fly and a fielding error to bring in three consecutive runs. The 8-3 lead for Augustana would hold through the final inning and a half of action and push the Vikings season record to 45-9 and 25-3 in NSIC play with 20 straight wins. UP NEXTAugustana has qualified for the NSIC Softball Tournament title game which is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Opponent is still undetermined as Winona State and Minnesota State are still set to face off in the second semifinal game yet today. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
