BISMARCK, N.D. - Mother Nature made her presence known during the Northern Sun game between the University of Mary Softball team and Augustana University this morning and stuck around long enough to force a cancellation of the second half of the doubleheader.
 
The first game was played to completion as the Marauders (6-16, 0-3 NSIC) lost the battle of the long ball to the Vikings (17-10, 3-1 NSIC) for a 14-3 final score before the snow accumulated on the field during the last few innings and prevented any chance to salvage a split.
 
Taylor Mendez gave U-Mary a 2-0 lead early in the game with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first over the centerfield fence, and U-Mary threatened to expand their lead further after getting two additional runners aboard with an Amber Gamboa single and Shawnee Zink reaching on dropped fly ball by the right fielder.
 
Augustana had different plans in the game, though, as right fielder Morgan Beaner threw Gamboa out at home on a hit by Colleen Crutchfield to halt any momentum the Marauders had built up before starting pitcher Carley Pickett forced a groundout from Kylie Alto to end the inning.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez kept the Vikings off balance through the first two inning, but ran into trouble in the third after Beaner took matters into her own hands with a solo shot to lead off Augustana's half of the inning, but the defensive miscues started to pile up early for U-Mary after Abby Chandler reached on an error during her bunt attempt and ended up scoring on a single through the left side from Sarah Kennedy to even the score at 2-2.
 
The Vikings weren't done in the inning, however, as they got one more run on a fielder's choice groundball from Maggie Kadrlik to bring in Carly Peterson and give Augustana a 3-2 lead going into the bottom half of the third.
 
U-Mary's offense hit a rut through the next two innings as Pickett allowed only two hits in the third and fourth innings, while Peterson padded Augustana's lead with a single to left field in the top of the fourth to bring in Beaner for a 4-2 Viking lead.
 
The Marauders' best opportunity to cut the lead down came in the bottom of the fifth as Alana Norman led off with a ground ball to third base and beat the throw from Shannon Petersen into first base, followed by Demaree Rodriguez drawing the walk for runners at first and second with nobody out.
 
Unfortunately, luck was not on U-Mary's side as Mendez drove the first pitch she saw straight at Maddie Merriam and gave her an opportunity to double up Norman at second base that brought the rally to a screeching halt. Gamboa reached on an error in the ensuing at bat to rekindle hope for some runs, but the inning ended in vain Pickett ended U-Mary's at bat with a ground ball from Shawnee Zink to keep the score at 4-2 heading into the sixth.
 
The snow started to pick up during Augustana's half of the sixth inning and as a result, the runs started to pile up as Beaner sent another solo shot to straightaway centerfield to lead the inning off, followed by an RBI double from Pickett and a two-run jack to right center for an 8-2 lead. As if the run-scoring double wasn't enough, Pickett kept the Marauders guessing with off-speed pitches as she finished with five strikeouts in the contest.
 
Augustana added insult to injury in the seventh with RBI singles from Peterson and Kennedy, followed by a three-run home run from Karlik for a 14-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. U-Mary wouldn't call it quits just yet, though, as Mendez reached on an error by the right fielder and made it all the way to third and scored on a ground ball from Gamboa to set the score at 14-3. It would become the final run in the game, however, even after Zink reached on a miscue from the second baseman with Pickett forcing the final out on a ground ball from Crutchfield to finilaze the score at 14-3.
 
With the weather getting progressively worse, the second game was cancelled and will not be played at a future time.
 
Colleen Crutchfield and Amber Gamboa both finished with two hits in the contest, both singles, while Taylor Mendez brought the power with her two-run shot in the first inning for her lone hit of the day.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez took the loss in the contest as she went through five innings of work before being replaced by Brieann Backes in the sixth and followed up by Taylor Lara closing out the game in the seventh.
 
The Marauders will head out on the road next week as they take on Bemidji State University on Tuesday, March 29, in a doubleheader starting at 2 PM CDT. U-Mary will pay a visit to the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday, April 2, before wrapping up the weekend with a trip to Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday, April 3.
 
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