MINOT, N.D. -- The Augustana baseball team (22-9, 15-2 NSIC) finished a four game series with Minot State (17-11, 10-5 NSIC) on Sunday, dropping game one 11-8 and falling 7-5 in game two.

Game Three

Augustana took advantage of an early mistake by the Beavers, scoring the first run of the game in the first inning off of an error. Minot State put up a run in the bottom of the first and the score held at 1-1 till the fifth inning, when the Vikings put up two runs. Ryan Nickel knocked an RBI single to right field to give Augustana a 3-1 lead that held till the sixth inning. 

The Beavers scored five runs in the sixth to claim their first lead of the game, but Augustana struck back quickly and scored four runs in the seventh on a Michael Svozil RBI walk, a Nickel sacrifice fly, and a Sam Baier RBI single through the left side. The other run was scored on a wild pitch.

Minot State scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth and took an 11-7 lead into the ninth. Augustana scored one run in the ninth on an RBI single by Nickel, but the rally was cut short as the Vikings fell 11-8.

Game Four

In the final game of the series, Augustana took an early lead once again, tacking on runs in both the first and second inning on RBI doubles by Will Olson and Seth Miller. Minot State came back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second and the game remained tied till the fourth inning. 

In the fourth inning, the Vikings put up two runs as Baier stole home while JT Mix stole second base. Nate Crossman put up an RBI on a sacrifice bunt to give Augustana their second run of the inning and put them up 4-2. Minot State answered in the fifth inning, however, scoring four runs to take the lead at 6-4.  

Augustana scored another run in the top of the sixth on a Miller solo homer to left field to draw the game to just a one-run Beaver lead. But Minot State scored one more run in the bottom of the sixth that proved to be enough for the win as the Beavers took the non-conference game 7-5.

Next Up

The Vikings remain on the road for a trip to Crookston, Minn. to take on the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles in a mid-week series on Wednesday afternoon starting at 1:30 PM.