ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - The No. 17/7/9 Augustana baseball team used a balanced effort to defeat Southern Arkansas 7-2 on Friday afternoon at Clyde Berry Field, on the campus of Henderson State.

Jack Hines and Sam Siegel were a nightmare for the opposing staff batting second and third in the order. Hines finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored and a stolen base while Sam Siegel went 3 for 4 with a double and three runs scored. 

Hines and Siegel helped set the stage at the plate for Joshua Koskie who went 2 for 3 with a double, home run and three RBI. Also driving in three runs was Jason Axelberg. The Vikings finished the day with 11 hits and four extra base hits. 

Ashton Michek earned the victory in his season debut, going five innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out eight. In relief, Harry Blum was dominant in his Viking debut, throwing the final four innings while allowing just two hits and striking out a pair. 

Michek opened the game exactly as you would expect, recording a pickoff and striking out a pair to send the Muleriders down in order. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Siegel kept the Vikings alive with a double and Koskie followed with a two-run blast to straightaway centerfield to give AU a 2-0 lead. 

SAU scored a run in the third and a run in the fourth to even the score at 2-2. The Vikings regained control in the bottom of the fifth, starting with an Eikmeier triple down the line and a sac fly from Winterstein scored him and gave AU a 3-2 lead.  

Hines restarted the offense with a single and Siegel walked to put the pair on. After Koskie was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Axelberg drove in a pair with a base knock up the middle to make it 5-2. 

The scoring ended in the seventh inning to help AU cement its victory. Hines singled and stole second to lead off the inning and Siegel singled to put them on the corners. Koskie followed it up with an RBI double to score Hines and Siegel made it home on a groundout by Axelberg to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings take on host Henderson State on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch slated for 1:30 p.m.