BOX SCORE 1 |
BOX SCORE 2 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana tied a school record with its 34th win of the season after sweeping Wayne State College on Friday night in Sioux Falls. The Vikings (34-16, 19-7 NSIC) won the opener 10-3 as senior
Nate Hewes blasted three home runs picking up a career-high four hits and seven RBI, finishing the first game 4-for-4 at the plate.
Bennett Johnson led the Vikings to an 11-1 win over the Wildcats (26-16, 18-10 NSIC) tossing 7.0 innings, striking out six batters while giving up just four hits and one unearned run.
Fifth-year head coach
Tim Huber's Vikings' will go for a school record for wins in a season as the Vikings host Wayne State in a doubleheader tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
Hewes' three home run performance tied a single game record set by Brad Bornhorst, who hit three home runs against the University of South Dakota on April 26, 2003. With his seven RBI, Hewes was just one shy of tying a single game record of eight, set by Matt Plumoff during the 1996 season.
Game one
Hewes started things off with a bang in the bottom of the first inning of game one, belting a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the first inning to give Augustana an early 4-0 lead.
Wayne State got on the board in the top of the third inning on a solo home run over the right field fence by Curtis Bussard to make the score 4-1.
Hewes answered with his second home run of the game in the bottom half of the inning, a towering shot to left field with two outs to extend Augustana's lead to 5-1.
Tyson Gau had another strong pitching performance for the Vikings as he tossed 5.0 innings, giving up just two hits and one run to earn his third win of the season.
After an inning and a half of scoreless baseball, Hewes blasted his third home run of the game, a towering two-run shot over the left center field wall to put Augustana in front 7-1.
Eric Docken came into the game to pitch in the top of the sixth inning and set the Wildcats down in order before the Vikings scored three runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth to push its lead to 10-1 heading into the final inning.
The Wildcats were able to push two runs across in the top of the seventh to make the score 10-3, but Docken shut the door and struck out the final batter to leave two runners on base to end the game.
Game two
Augustana pounded out 12 hits in the nightcap while
Marcus O'Neill,
David Borchardt,
Kye Winter,
Brian Duxbury and
Ben Ludwigson each had two hits.
The Vikings went up 1-0 in the bottom of the second when Borchardt scored an unearned run on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt by the Wayne State catcher. Borchardt led off the inning with a double down the left field line and moved up to third on a bunt single by Winter.
Wayne State tied the game at one in the top of the third when Blake Brisson scored an unearned run after he singled on a bunt and moved up to third on a throwing error by the Vikings. Brisson beat out the bunt and on the play, Ludwigson threw the ball past the first baseman to move up to third. Bussard, who led off the inning with a single, was thrown out on the same play trying to advance to home.
Augustana responded to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning scored two runs on one WSC error.
Johnson took over from there setting down the Wildcats in order the next four straight innings, while striking out six batters allowing the Vikings to take a comfortable lead.
Augustana pushed its lead to 7-1 in the fifth inning, scoring four runs on five hits. The Vikings did all of their scoring with two outs in the fifth inning. O'Neill scored on a wild pitch to start the scoring before Borchardt doubled down the left field line and scored on an RBI single by Hewes.
Winter and Duxbury each delivered two-out RBI singles later in the inning to push across two more runs. Augustana would score four more runs over the next three innings to win by the 10-run-rule in eight innings over the Wildcats.
The game ended on an RBI single by Ludwigson to score Hewes and give the Vikings the win.
Augustana and Wayne State will conclude the four-game series with Wayne State with a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at Karras Park, Home of Ronken Field.
Tomorrow's festivities will begin with a field dedication and blessing, followed by first pitches being thrown out by Lee “Goldy” Goldammer, Don “Deke” Karras and Bryce Ronken. In between game one and game two, there will be a ceremony to honor all involved with the recent facility upgrades to Karras Park, Home of Ronken Field.
