Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - Solid pitching, timely hitting, and a few dashes of outstanding defense were the recipe for two wins over Augsburg today. The Royals came from behind to defeat the Auggies 4-3 in game one, and then hung on to win 5-3 in game two.

Bethel's afternoon started out a little shaky as Augsburg used some aggressive baserunning and took advantage of a couple of Royal errors to build a 3-0 lead by the middle of the third inning. However, the Royals erased their deficit and tied the game in the home half of the third by returning the favor and scoring three unearned runs.

Lauren Habisch (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) slapped a pitch on the outer half of the plate to right field to score both Kelly Berg (Jr., South Haven, Minn.) and Nea Harkness (Sr., Winthrop, Minn.). Rachel Gilbert (Fr., Becker, Minn.) then singled home Habisch from second base to tie the game.

The Royals tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth inning as Jess Newstrom (Fr., Cambridge, Minn.) singled to left field to score Lisa Patnode (Sr., Princeton, Minn.).

From that point on, it was up to Rebecca Akerson (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) to shut the door and hold the Auggies scoreless. After the third inning, the All-MIAC pitcher settled in to retire 13 batters in a row before giving up a one-out triple in the top of the seventh. But thanks to a fantastic diving catch by Gilbert and then a pop-up to Berg, the Royals were able to hang on for the win. Akerson improved to 10-5 on the season and notched her 13th complete game of 2010.

The nightcap started out as a pitcher's duel as neither team gathered a hit until the bottom of the third. That's when the Royals did the majority of their scoring. Newstrom led off with a single and was replaced on the base paths by Anja Erlandson (So., White Bear Lake, Minn.) who stole second base, but the next two batters both got out, bringing Harkness to the plate. Harkness slapped a single to left center, allowing Erlandson to score.

After a walk and an error, Gilbert came to the plate with the bases loaded and laced a double to the right centerfield gap, clearing the bases and making the score 4-0. Augsburg cut the Bethel lead in half in the top of the fourth, but Charitey Rowden (Sr., Shellsburg, Iowa) bore down and was the beneficiary of a great defensive play. With two outs and a runner at second, Ashley Lindberg (Sr., Sartell, Minn.) gunned out Augsburg's Shawna Middleton as she tried to swipe second base after singling, which drew a throw to home plate from Gilbert. Middleton was the third out and the Auggie runner was left stranded at third base.

Rowden hung three Auggie runners out to dry on the bases on her way to her eighth win of the season. She also struck out eight Augsburg batters to surpass 200 career strikeouts. Rowden has not struck out more than seven batters in one game since her freshman season when she fanned 14 against Concordia.

With the wins, the Royals improve to 21-17 overall and 13-7 in the MIAC, while Augsburg, who came into the games tied with Bethel for third place, sinks down to 21-17 overall and 11-9 in conference play. The Royals are scheduled to take on St. Olaf on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. in Northfield for their last regular season games. That doubleheader, as well as Augsburg's doubleheader against St. Olaf tomorrow will all factor into the playoff picture.

NOTES:
- Lauren Habisch is now just two RBI short of reaching 100 in her career.
- Nea Harkness needs just one more strikeout as a pitcher to reach 200.
- Charitey Rowden has a better than 7:1 strikeout to walk ratio in conference games.