SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Augustana baseball (31-16, 25-7) picked up a split on Thursday against the University of Sioux Falls (17-25, 14-18) at Karras Park, Home of Ronken Field. The Vikings took game one 5-3 but a fell in game two, 4-3.

Game One
Augustana took an early lead in the game when Ford Schroeder hit a sacrifice fly to right field that drove in Riley Johnson, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead after the first inning. In the fourth inning, the Vikings tacked on another run thanks to a wild pitch by USF's pitcher that allowed Carter Wevik to score from third and make it 2-0.

After USF tied the game at two with a home run in the fifth inning, the Vikings regained the lead in the bottom of the inning when Lucas Barry bunted for a single that scored Patrick O'Donnell to make it 3-2.

In the top of the sixth USF again tied the game but in the bottom of the inning, the Vikings got big hits from important players. O'Donnell got the first big hit with a single to right field that drove in Jacob James and gave the Vikings a 4-3 lead. The next batter was Kris Ashland and he hit a clutch single up the middle to score Sam Baier and give the Viking an insurance run late in the game.

Collin Lovell was his usual dominant self in the final inning striking out the side for his seven save of the season and sealing the 5-3 victory for the Viking in game one.

Pitchers of Record
Win - Dalton Allen (1-3): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks
Loss - Dan Johnson (3-3): 5.2 IP, 5 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 strikeouts, 7 walks
Save - Collin Lovell (7): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks

Viking Notables
• Augustana improved to 30-12 all-time against USF
• Ryan Hamilton got the start for the Vikings pitching five innings. He allowed three runs on nine hits while striking out four
• The Vikings left nine runners on base
• James and Barry each earned a stolen base
• The Vikings only struck out twice
 

---

Game Two
The Cougars scored all their runs in the first inning on one swing of the bat. Matthew Minnick hit a grand slam to give USF a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Vikings cut the deficit to three when Barry walked with the bases loaded to score O'Donnell.

The Vikings made things interesting in the sixth inning scoring a couple of runs. After back-to-back singles to open the inning from Baier and O'Donnell. Ashland reached base on a fielder's choice that scored Baier. The Vikings final run of the game came a few batters later when Ryan Menssen hit a sac fly to center to score O'Donnell.

Pitcher of Record
Win - Chris Thompson (3-2): 6 IP, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, 5 walks
Loss - Ryne Lees (1-3): 6 IP, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk
Save - Stuart Maes (1): 3 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks

Viking Notables
• Augustana fell to 30-13 all-time against USF
• The Vikings left nine runners on base
• For the second straight game, the Vikings failed to pick up an extra base hit
•  Ben Moran pitched 2.1 innings giving up no hits and only walking two
• Derek Dahlke pitch two-thirds of an inning striking out one
• Augustana struck out seven times

Up Next
Augustana will be back at home tomorrow afternoon due to a schedule change. The Vikings will host Wayne State tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. for a doubleheader. The Vikings will be the road team on the scoreboard.