OMAHA, Neb. – The Augustana baseball team earned a series sweep over Minnesota Duluth with two victories on Friday. The Vikings, playing the final two games in Omaha, Nebraska, prevailed with a late home run in game one to win 9-8. The second game was a run-rule 11-1 victory.
 
The No. 20 Vikings are now 17-4 on the year and 10-2 within the NSIC. Minnesota Duluth is 8-13, 4-8.
 
Game One: No. 20 Augustana 9, Minnesota Duluth 8
Augustana bookended the game with five runs in the first and four runs in the sixth to claim the 9-8 victory in come-from-behind fashion.
 
Jack Hines hit a two-run home run in the first inning to open a 2-0 lead. In succession, Ragan Pinnow and Jason Axelberg reached base as Joe Kolbeck then hit a homer over the right-center fence for a 5-0 lead.
 
The Bulldogs then chipped away at the lead, scoring four runs in the second and another in the third to knot the game at 5-5.
 
Minnesota Duluth then scored a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to take an 8-5 lead.
 
With momentum completely shifted, Augustana got out of the top of the sixth and got to work in the bottom half of the inning.
 
With two outs, Nick Banowetz reached first base after a dropped third strike, followed by a throwing error by the catcher to score Kolbeck who had been on first base.
 
With Banowetz on second base, Max Mosser worked a five-pitch walk. That made Minnesota Duluth change pitchers with Luke Ballweg stepping up to the plate. Ballweg greeted him with a three-run home run to take the lead at 9-8.
 
Adam Diedrich came in to shut the door on UMD in the bottom of the seventh as he picked up his fourth save of the season.
 
Augustana picked up nine hits in the game with three from Pinnow. J.D. Hennen earned the victory on the mound for AU to move to 2-0 in 2024.
 
Game Two: No. 20 Augustana 11, Minnesota Duluth 1
After a first-inning double scored a run for the Bulldogs, the game was all Augustana. The first run for AU came in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch as Trevor Winterstein scampered across home plate.
 
Parker Mooney, who was batting while the wild pitch occurred, then connected on a home run over the right-center fence. The four-base hit also brought home Joe Kolbeck and Sam Siegel.
 
The flood-gates opened in the third inning as Siegel worked a bases-loaded walk to bring home Luke Ballweg. With the bases still loaded, Kolbeck crushed a grand slam over the left-field fence. The home run scored Siegel, Winterstein and Ryan Clementi for a 9-1 lead.
 
Augustana then added a run in both the fourth and fifth innings as Winterstein brought home Ballweg on a single in the fourth. The final run in the fifth was a Clementi double to score Ballweg.
 
While the offense collected six hits for the 11 runs while working 12 walks, the Viking pitching staff allowed five hits and walked just four. Mariano Gomez earned the win with five innings pitched and six strikeouts. Tom Sun and Caleb Kranz pitched the final two innings to shut the door on UMD. Gomez is now 2-0.
 
Up Next
Augustana's scheduled game against Dakota Wesleyan will be postponed from its original date of Tuesday. That makes the next time AU is in action is against Minnesota Crookston. Stay tuned to GoAugie.com for updates regarding the location and schedule of that series.