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Augustana Vikings Win DII National Championship In Softball

Augustana University National Softball Champions

Augustana University claimed its second ever DII National Championship in softball over Memorial Day weekend, with a pair of wins coming on Monday in Denver, Colorado.

The Vikings entered Monday needing to win a ‘best of three’ series over Texas A&M-Kingsville. They won the first game 6-4, and then were victorious in the second game a few hours later with the same final score.

“It’s just an incredible day and an incredible performance for our student athletes,” said Augustana head softball coach Gretta Melsted. “We always tell [our players], if you stick to the game the right way, if you’re respectful, if you respect your opponents, if you respect the officials, if you respect the game, the game will play you back. And we feel like the game paid us back today.”

Along the way in the DII NCAA softball tournament, Augustana Unviersity also recorded wins against the University of California San Diego, West Florida, and Young Harris.

This is the second national softball championship in program history for the Vikings with their first one coming in 1991. Augie won the national championship in baseball last year, and in 2016, they were national champs in boys’ basketball.

Nate Wek is currently the sports content producer and sports and rec beat reporter for South Dakota Public Broadcasting. He is a graduate of South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism Broadcasting and a minor in Leadership. From 2010-2013 Nate was the Director of Gameday Media for the Sioux Falls Storm (Indoor Football League) football team. He also spent 2012 and 2013 as the News and Sports Director of KSDJ Radio in Brookings, SD. Nate, his wife Sarah, and three sons, Braxan, Jordy, and Anders live in Canton, SD.