Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Galesburg, Ill. – The Prairie Fire came up short in a doubleheader against Augustana College on Wednesday at home.

The 21st ranked team in the NCAA Division III poll, Augustana used a six-run sixth inning to win the opening game 7-0, and then scored eight runs in the sixth inning of the finale to complete the sweep with a 12-2 victory.

The first game belonged to the pitchers through the first four innings.  Sophomore Karli Shields (Naperville, IL, Neuqua Valley) held Augustana to one hit while Knox had three, but neither team was able to score. 

That changed in the top of the fifth when the Vikings opened the inning with three straight infield hits and took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly to left field.  Shields recorded two ground ball outs sandwiched between a walk to get out of the jam and strand three Augustana runners.

Ashley Andrerson retired the Prairie Fire in order in the bottom of the fifth as Augie maintained a 1-0 lead.

The Vikings added some insurance with six runs in the top of the sixth.  Two singles brought in three runs while two more scored on wild pitches and the last run of the inning crossed the plate on a Knox error.

A sophomore lefthander, Anderson (7-4) allowed only three Prairie Fire batters to reach base over the last three innings and earned the win.  She scattered five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.  The victory was the seventh in a row for Augustana and fourth straight shutout.

Shields (0-9), aside from a rough sixth inning, pitched well for Knox.  She gave up four earned runs, 12 hits, five walks, and struck out one in the loss.

Junior Kayla Behrens (Moline, IL, Moline) was 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Knox.

The Praire Fire halted Augie's shutout streak at four by plating two runs in the bottom of the first inning of the second game to tie it 2-2.

Augustana (19-5) scored on a sacrifice fly and a ground out to grab a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

The Prairie Fire (1-15) answered with two runs in the bottom of the first and tied the game when senior Amber Eisha (South Wilmington, IL, Gardner-South Wilmington) and first-year Kaly Davidson (Needham, MA, Needham) both scored after Behrens reached on an infield error.

Knox managed only two hits the rest of the game off of Augie hurler Christie Wiersma – a single by Eisha in the third inning and a single by junior Claire Neri (Melrose Park, IL, West Leyden) in the fifth.

The Vikings reclaimed the lead, 3-2, with a run in the top of the second on an RBI single.  Augustana added another run in the top of the fourth on a single and three-base error before an eight run explosion in the sixth sealed the team's eighth straight win.

Wiersma (1-0) helped her own cause with a three-run homer.  She threw six innings and surrendered three hits and two walks while striking out four to pick up the victory.

Eisha (1-6), who was on base three times with two hits and a walk, was charged with the loss.  She allowed six earned runs, 11 hits, two walks and struck out one in six innings of work.

The Prairie Fire begin Midwest Conference South Division play at Lake Forest College on Saturday.  The first game of the doubleheader starts at 12:00 p.m.

Knox returns home for a non-conference doubleheader against MacMurray College on Sunday that gets underway at 3:00 p.m.