LAKEWOOD, Colo.--The Augustana Baseball team saw its first sweep of the season with two wins at Colorado Christian on Sunday. The Vikings move to 8-5 overall and the Cougars drop to 2-7-1 overall in 2023. 

Game One: Augustana 17, Colorado Christian 11
It was a high-scoring affair in game one of the doubleheader with Augustana coming out on top. The Vikings were the first team to jump on the board with two runs in the second inning. Drey Dirksen hit one deep to bring home Luke Ballweg, who reached base on a single to the right in his first at-bat of the contest.

Augustana added a run in the third inning from a single hit by Ballweg that plated Trevor Winterstein. In the fourth inning, two more runs by the Vikings pushed the lead to 5-0 after Joshua Koskie scored on a sacrifice fly and Winterstein added another run for AU.

Colorado Christian narrowed the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning with two solo home runs. 

The Vikings answered back with a three-run home run from Winterstein that drove in Jason Axelberg and Spencer Marenco. CCU tallied one run in the seventh, aiming to close the gap. 

In the eighth inning, Augustana added four runs to jump forward 12-4. The scoring started with a single from Marenco that scored Koskie. Marenco then ran home on a wild pitch. Jason Axelberg scored a run on a single from Winterstein and a double later brought Winterstein in to score. 

The Cougars responded with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth.

Augustana racked up five runs in the ninth inning, including a grand slam from Dirksen. The Cougars fired back with six runs, but fell short in a late comeback attempt.

Dirksen led the Vikings with two home runs and six RBI. Winterstein totaled four RBI with one home run and went 3-for-5. 

On the mound, Seth Miller got the start and pitched five innings, earning the win with seven strikeouts. In total, six Vikings saw time on the mound with 11 combined strikeouts.

Game Two: Augustana 12, Colorado Christian 7
The Vikings completed the sweep of the Cougars in the second game of the doubleheader. AU was the first team to get a run on the board with a three-run homer from Parker Mooney that sent Luke Ballweg and Drey Dirksen in to score. 

The Cougars put up five runs in the third inning to take the lead. Augustana tallied three runs in the top of the fourth to retake the lead over CCU, starting with a double to left center from Jack Sutton that plated Mooney. 

It was back-and-forth in the fourth inning, with CCU taking back the lead with two runs. A solo home run from Dirksen would tie the game at 7-7. The Vikings controlled the scoring for the rest of the game, adding five more runs in the final innings.

Mooney went 2-for-2 with a double and a home run. Dirksen and Winterstein both went 2-for-5 while Dirksen added a home run. Mooney and Trey Walker led Augustana with four RBI each.

Ethan Cole got the start on the mound, tossing 2.1 innings and striking out five batters. Gabe Pilla took over for Cole and spent 1.2 innings on the hill, logging three strikeouts. It was Jason Fink that produced the first win of his collegiate career after spending 1.2 innings in the game. Adam Diedrich got the save and wrapped up the seven inning contest with two strikeouts.

Up Next

Augustana heads to Cary, North Carolina, on March 4-6 for the annual spring trip. The Vikings will face D'Youville, West Chester, Saint Thomas Aquinas and Dominican on the trip.

–GoAugie.com–