Expectations were high entering the 2026 season for the Augustana softball team after a breakout season where they finished 28-14. Despite a 6-13 overall and 1-3 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) record to start the season, the Vikings were optimistic heading into their series at the University of Dubuque. That series would mark the start of a stretch of six games in four days.
The high expectations were warranted, though, as the Vikings returned a handful of All-CCIW players. Those returnees include first-team selections Alexis Duke (who also claimed CCIW First-Year Player of the Year honors), Aubrey Gradin and Emma Evans alongside second-team selections in Lauren Koster and Alaina Diaz.
Even with those talented returners, a lot of the Vikings’ production has come from newcomers through the first half of the season. First-Year hitter Madi Bickell leads the team in home runs with six and runs batted in (RBI) with 25. First-Year pitcher Addie Garr and sophomore transfer Mya Brown have pitched the bulk of the innings while Koster recovers from the shoulder surgery she underwent in the offseason.
Head Coach John Nelson was not surprised by these newcomers’ immediate impact, though, having scouted them and seen them play in a lot of different places.
“I don’t like to recruit role players, I recruit players who I believe are going to be impact players right away,” Nelson said. “Every tournament that I saw Bickell play over the summer, she had a home run, or she took a pitcher’s head off. As far as Brown goes, I coached her in travel ball, and I called her state championship-winning game on WRMJ radio, so I’ve seen her compete at high levels against really tough competition and succeed.”
Going into the Dubuque series, the team was riding a small high. After almost completing a comeback in the first game against Illinois Wesleyan University, a narrow 5-3 loss in extra innings, the team shut out Wesleyan in their next game, 5-0, which was the Titans’ first conference loss in 21 games, a streak going back to 2024.
In that second game, senior Emily Gad proved to be a loud and vocal leader for the Vikings, and her presence in the dugout was very noticeable.
“I just like to keep things fun, especially in moments of stress,” Gad said. “When we have those high-stress games, and you get really emotional, I think it always helps to be a little bit silly. We want to win, but we can have fun. I’ll do the worm, I’ll do a headstand for [the team]. We can just relax and still play our game and have fun, too.”
In game one against the Dubuque Spartans, despite trailing 1-0 for most of the game, the Vikings battled back to tie the game after First-Year A’Rion Lonergan singled, stole second, and scored on Gradin’s RBI hit.
Augustana would later take a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning when Duke scored after reaching and advancing on the bases. However, the Spartans would come back to steal the game on a walkoff two-run single, saddling the Vikings with yet another close loss.
In game two, the Vikings’ offense exploded early when they scored three runs in the first behind contributions from Gradin, Duke and sophomore Emma Schmidt. The team’s success was highlighted by Olivia Osborne’s two-run home run and five-RBI performance. In the circle, Koster earned the win in her season debut, while Brown closed it out with 2.2 innings and three strikeouts to secure the shutout victory and bring much-needed focus and momentum.
“Momentum is important, but I also think it’s important to trust the process where, no matter the outcome [at Dubuque], if we played our best game, a win or a loss would contribute to momentum,” Koster said. “We come at it from an angle where we’re hungry to compete if we lose, but if we win, we’re hungry to keep that momentum. As long as we go out and play good softball, it’s going to carry over regardless.”
In game one of their next series against Carthage, after trailing 4-0 in the fifth, Duke launched a two-run home run to spark the offense, and the momentum carried into the sixth when Schmidt and Lonergan reached and set up a game-tying two-run double by Gradin. Bickell then delivered the go-ahead RBI double, helping secure the 5-4 win.
In game two, the Vikings jumped out early with RBI contributions from Bickell and Evans to build a 4-1 lead. However, they ultimately fell short after a big fourth inning by Carthage, 8-5.
Next on the docket were the 16-13 Carroll Pioneers, and while their record was not the most intimidating, record is something that coach Nelson does not pay much attention to.
“We don’t look past anybody,” Nelson said. “Anybody can beat anybody. This is college softball: The team that shows up to play and makes the fewest mistakes wins. That’s what we have to do. We got to go play to win and make fewer mistakes.”
Against Carroll, in game one, Lonergan sparked the offense and scored the opening run, and while Carroll tied the game with a groundout that scored a run, Duke and Osborne teamed up to regain the lead in the fifth. Evans and Gradin each delivered RBI doubles to extend the lead, and Brown dominated in the circle with a complete-game, 11-strikeout performance to secure the 4-2 win.
In game two, the Vikings stayed hot offensively, getting on the board behind Garr and a solo home run from Bickell before breaking the game open with a four-run fifth inning fueled by Lonergan and First-Year Lindsay LaVine. After back-to-back home runs from Duke and Gradin, the team finished with 10 hits in a dominant 9-0 victory.
The Vikings now sit on an eight-game win streak following sweeps of Grinnell College, Wheaton College, and North Park University to bring their record to 16-15 ahead of their home matchup against North Central on Wednesday, April 29.
