After sweeping Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday, the Vikings dropped both games of a doubleheader to the Mustangs on Monday. Augie lost 12-2 and 4-3 in Marshall, Minn.
The second game was close throughout, with Augustana (28-22, 15-11 NSIC) taking an early 1-0 lead in the first, when Drew Heithoff scored off of a Charlie Dubanoski error.
The Mustangs were able to tie the score 1-1 in the bottom of the third and then take the lead 3-1 by scoring two runs in the fourth. The runs came when Andrew Kinney was walked and Matt Bauer blasted a home run over the right field fence.
But Augie wouldn't go away, and Nate Hewes reached on an error by the second baseman. Nate Baumann walked and both runners scored on a double by Deryk Marks to tie the score 3-3.
SMSU took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, when Josh Wendland reached on a fielder's choice before scoring on the double by Tyler Jendro.
Grant Larson (4-2) went all six innings and suffered the loss for the Vikings.
The Vikings lost game one thanks to two big early innings by the Mustangs.
Derick Swenson led the first off with a single through the right side and then advanced to second as Cody Curry was hit by Augustana pitcher Sam Gotham. Andrew Kinney then singled to left before Swenson scored on a wild pitch. Matt Bauer was hit by a pitch before a double by Adam Tygesen scored Curry and Kinney. A single to center by Chris Eichten scored the final two runs of the inning to give SMSU a 5-0 lead.
SMSU (22-14, 18-8 NSIC) then scored five more runs in the second to go up 10-0.
Augie was able to muster up some offense in the seventh when Chris Glynn was walked and then scored on a double by Derek Hansen. Hansen advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on the single by Ben Ludwigson.
SMSU scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to gain a 10-run advantage and end the game early.
Gotham (2-3) was the losing pitcher in game two.
“Today was disappointing,” head coach Tim Huber said. “We were a different team from yesterday. We didn't show up ready to play and just made it pretty difficult to find our way into the conference tourney.”
On a positive note, Marks now has 80 hits on the season, a new Augie single-season record. Teammate Baumann is second on the list with 76 hits.
The Vikings play their final home games of the season on Wednesday against Upper Iowa. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
