WAYNE, Neb. -- The No. 20 Augustana baseball team (33-14, 26-6 NSIC) won a three-game series with Wayne State (31-15, 22-11 NSIC) on Saturday and Sunday. In Saturday's game, the Vikings fell 4-3, but returned on Sunday to score 23 runs in two games, winning 13-2 in game one and 10-1 in game two.

The series win against the Wildcats keeps the Vikings in the top spot of the NSIC by 1.5 games over Minnesota State and 2.5 games over #4 St. Cloud State. 

Game One

In game one of the series, Augustana scored the first run of the game in the first inning on a RBI single by Riley Johnson that scored Michael Svozil. Wayne State tied the game up in the bottom of the first, however, before the Vikings scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning by capitalizing on Wildcat errors. 

Wayne State climbed back into the game with runs in the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings and took the win on a walk-off single to right center. 

Augustana was led at the plate in game one by Johnson and Ryan Nickel, who each produced a pair of hits, while Johnson knocked in the only RBI of the game. 

Game Two

Game two of the series showed an early barrage of runs by the Vikings as they scored six runs in the first inning on the Wildcats. Augustana was led in the inning by a two-RBI single by Seth Miller that scored Nate Crossman and Will Olson. After an Aiden Ladd RBI single, Svozil doubled to left field and scored Miller from second. 

The Vikings followed up their six-run first inning with another two runs in the second inning. Olson drove in the only RBI of the inning on a double to right center to score Johnson. The second run of the inning was scored by Olson as he stole home on a double steal. 

Wayne State scored a run in the third inning to reduce the lead to 8-1 where the score stayed till the sixth inning. In the sixth, Ladd drove in two runs on a single through the right side to give Augustana a 10-1 lead. 

The Wildcats scored a run in the sixth, but the Vikings answered back with three runs in the top of the seventh. Johnson led the way with a two-run homer to left field that scored JT Mix, followed by a Baier RBI infield single.

On the mound, Evan Furst grabbed his fifth win of the season and pitched six innings and struck out five while only allowing one earned run. 

Game Three

In the series finale, Augustana took a first inning lead again with a Johnson RBI line out to score Svozil to put them up 1-0. Wayne State tied the game in the bottom of the second, but the Vikings took the lead back right away in the top of the third as Ladd scored on an RBI double down the left field line by Mix.

In the sixth inning, Augustana blew the lead open with a four-run inning that utilized small ball to their advantage. Three of the four runs in the inning came on bunt singles by Baier, Bjorn Hanson, and Svozil. 

The Vikings scored four more runs in the eighth and ninth innings as Ladd, Mix, and Nickel each contributed RBI singles. 

Max Steffens earned the win in the final game of the series and his seventh of the season. Steffens's win came in his first relief appearance of the year and was the first win in which he did not pitch a complete game. Steffens and Tanner Brown each pitched three innings of relief work in the nine-inning contest. 

Next Up

The Vikings finish the regular season on Friday and Saturday against Upper Iowa in a three-game series at Karras Park, the home of Ronken Field starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday. On Saturday there is just one game and is Senior Day for the Vikings.