ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The No. 19-ranked Augustana baseball team earned a split against St. Cloud State on Thursday afternoon, falling 3-0 in game one before bouncing back for a 6-3 win in game two. 

The Vikings move to 12-3 overall and 5-1 in the NSIC, while the Huskies move to 9-7, 5-1. 

St. Cloud State 3, Augustana 0
Nick Banowetz had a pair of hits and a stolen base, while Drey Dirksen, Ragan Pinnow, and Luke Ballweg each had a hit. Trevor Winterstein had a pair of walks to go with two stolen bases. The Vikings had at least two runners on in five of the seven innings, but were held scoreless.

Five of the six innings thrown by Caleb Saari were 1-2-3 innings. He allowed three runs on three hits in the second inning that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. 

In a game that was balanced throughout, the Vikings saw their best chance in the fourth inning. A two-out rally attempt opened with singles from Pinnow and Ballweg. Tate Meiners battled for a nine pitch walk to load the bases, but AU was unable to scrape a run across. 

Augustana 6, St. Cloud State 3
Ballweg hit a tiebreaking solo home run to lift the Vikings to victory in game two. 

He recorded one of eight Viking hits in the game. Ryan Clementi went 2 for 2 with a walk in the leadoff spot and Nick Banowetz went 2 for 4 in the two-hole. Max Mosser also had a pair of hits while scoring a pair of runs. 

Ashton Michek earned the victory, striking out five in six innings while allowing two earned runs. 

The Huskies opened scoring with a run in each of the first two innings. The Vikings found the scoreboard in the third when Joe Kolbeck sent a triple off the right field fence to score Max Mosser.

AU went on to score two more in the inning to take their first lead of the afternoon. Kolbeck would end up scoring on a Banowetz single to tie the game, and then Ryan Clementi crossed home on a two-out error from SCSU to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead after reaching on a walk. 

With the score tied at 3-3 in the sixth, Ballweg dug in as a pinch hitter. With one out and a 0-2 count, he blasted a home run to right field, giving the Vikings a 4-3 lead. 

Max Mosser singled up the middle and Kolbeck walked following the home run to keep the pressure on. After the second out of the inning, Ethan Cole drew a pinch-hit walk to load the bases. AU added two runs on a wild pitch and throwing error from the catcher to bring in Kolbeck and Mosser and put the Vikings in front 6-3. 

The Viking bullpen came through in the later innings to help secure the win. Riley Rothschadl allowed a hit and struck out a pair in two innings, and Adam Diedrich earned his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning to finish it. 

The teams will meet for another doubleheader Friday afternoon, with action slated to begin at 1 p.m.