BEMIDJI -- An upset win over 14th-ranked Augustana capped the 2019 season for the Bemidji State softball team and its five seniors Saturday afternoon. The Beavers knocked off the Vikings 3-1 to begin the doubleheader before falling 3-0 in the season finale.
“It’s so great to end the year like that,” BSU assistant coach Brittany Gomez said. “Everybody’s doing their job. Pitching was great, defense was on, and offense was on. Everything you could ask for. We’re really happy and excited we got to send off the seniors like that.”
The loss was just the eighth of the year and third in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play for Augustana (47-8, 27-3 NSIC).
“It’s the best way we could have imagined (to end the season),” senior Brooke Phillips said. “We came in here knowing that we had nothing to lose. And it was just a great team victory.”
An RBI double gave the Vikings an early 1-0 lead in the second inning.
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Makayla Pagel came through on Senior Day with the game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the third, scoring fellow senior Jess Burlingame. The RBI was the 105th in Pagel’s career and tied her with Lyndsey Peterson for the most RBIs in program history.
An inning later, Elaina Christiansen singled up the middle to score Olivia Tucker from third for the go-ahead run. Phillips stepped up to the plate one batter later and belted an RBI triple to right center, extending the lead to 3-1.
Augie threatened in the sixth and seventh innings but Stephi Dullum shut the door each time.
Dullum ends the season with a team-best 11 wins, finishing 11-15 in the circle. She went the distance in her complete-game outing Saturday, allowing one run on seven hits.
Augustana recovered to capture a 3-0 win in the late game. The Vikings’ 47 wins lead NCAA Division II.
Maggie Kadrlik hit a solo homer in the second inning before RBI doubles from Shannon Petersen and Kadrlik in the third inning made it 3-0.
Amber Elliott pitched lights out for Augie, fanning 10 batters in her complete-game shutout while allowing just four hits.
Kelsey McAllister, making her first pitching appearance since 2017, started the game and lasted two innings. The senior struck out four while allowing only one run on three hits in the loss.
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Philips recorded her NSIC-leading 20th double of the year in the loss.
BSU finishes the 2019 season with a 24-30 overall record and a 7-23 mark against NSIC opponents.
The team entered conference play at 17-7, and achieved a program-record 10-game win streak following a sweep over Minnesota Crookston in their first NSIC action of the year March 27. However, the Beavers went 5-23 the rest of the way as they struggled within the league, but still managed to end with two wins in the final weekend.
“I think we definitely had our highs and lows,” Phillips said. “We could have done a lot better, but we really picked it up towards the end and had a decent season overall.”
“Since I’ve been here just since August, I’ve learned some new things, some new strategies or different viewpoints on how to view things,” Gomez said. “I think they got on the bandwagon and they jumped along and they still kept working hard and everything. I think that helped us a lot, too.”
Seniors Phillips, Burlingame, Pagel, McAllister and Rochelle Koshalek were honored following the game.
This senior class won 102 games over four years, and were freshmen when the team won a program-record 33 games in 2016. Individually, seniors broke numerous single-season and career records for the program.
“They’re great leaders, on and off the softball field,” Gomez said. “And that’s all you can ask for. … They’re just a great group. We’re definitely going to miss them. They’re, like, half of our team, so we’re definitely going to miss them.”
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“It’s just great going out with these great girls,” Phillips added.
Bemidji State 3, Augustana 1
AU 010 000 0 -- 1-7-2
BSU 001 200 X -- 3-9-0
WP: St. Dullum (CG, 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K).
LP: Mickschl (CG, 6 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K).
Augustana 3, Bemidji State 0
AU 012 000 0 -- 3-10-1
BSU 000 000 0 -- 0-4-0
WP: Elliott (CG, 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K).
LP: McAllister (2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K).
