DENVER, Colo. - The Augustana baseball team wrapped up its first doubleheader of the season, defeating Regis 13-3 before falling 6-5 on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings move to 2-1 on the year, while the Rangers fall to 7-7-1 overall.
Game One: Augustana 13, Regis 3
The Vikings manufactured runs in the second inning to open the scoring.
Sam Siegel and
Parker Mooney led the inning off with back-to-back singles. A fielder's choice from
Tate Meiners put runners on the corners and
Ragan Pinnow drove in Siegel on a ground out.
Max Mosser followed up Pinnow's RBI with a single through the left side to drive home Meiners.
Trevor Winterstein continued the inning with a double down the line and after
Luke Ballweg was summoned as a pinch hitter, he drove in both Mosser and Winterstein with a single up the middle.
The second inning scoring concluded one batter later, as
Jack Hines launched a home run to the opposite field, giving
Ashton Michek and AU a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the second inning.
Michek did his job in the bottom of the inning, forcing double play and collecting a strikeout to hold momentum.
After a
Parker Mooney single led off the third inning with a single,
Spencer Marenco entered as a pinch hitter. The speedy infielder from North Bend, Wash., made an impact on the base paths, starting with a hit-and-run opportunity that allowed him to reach second on a ground out. After getting to third base on a wild pitch, Mosser sent a two-out single through the right side to bring Marenco home and grow the lead to 7-0.
Regis cut its deficit to four with a run in the third, fifth, and sixth inning.
Joe Kolbeck got a run back in the seventh, scoring Meiners and growing the AU lead back to five at 8-3.
The bats exploded in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach, starting with a solo shot from
Drey Dirksen. Pinnow added a run on a sac fly, and
Jason Axelberg launched a three-run exclamation point to left center to close the game.
Michek allowed just a pair of earned runs and struck out four in six innings of work for his first victory of the season.
Kai Taylor struck out three in a pair of innings, while
Drew Ball picked up a pair of strikeouts in a perfect ninth inning to seal the deal.
Four Vikings had multi-hit performances, led by Mosser's 3 for 4 with a run and two RBI in the victory. Hines and Pinnow recorded two hits and two RBI each, and Mooney went 2 for 2.
Game Two: Regis 6, Augustana 5
In game two,
J.D. Hennen gave AU a shot out of the gate on the bump. He allowed just one hit and an unearned run in four innings of work in his first career start.
The runs strung together in the fifth inning. Kolbeck drew a lead-off walk and Mosser followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Mosser collected a steal to put the pair in scoring position, and back-to-back wild pitches brought in Kolbeck and pinch-runner
Trey Walker to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
Winterstein worked his way into a run, drawing a walk and stealing second before a
Nick Banowetz single brought him in. Banowetz would get to third after a pair of wild pitches, and Hines made them pay with a single to knock him in, and then would later score on a Siegel RBI single to cap off a five-run fifth.
Regis mounted a comeback in the seventh, scoring five runs of their own to close out the victory.
Hines and Winterstein each had multi hit games to lead the offense for AU.
The Vikings and Rangers will close their series Sunday afternoon, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
