SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The No. 16 Augustana baseball team continued its NSIC dominance, defeating St. Cloud State 16-2 and 13-3 on Friday afternoon at Ronken Field.
Game one: Augustana 16, St. Cloud State 2
Carter Heinsch had four hits and three RBI while
Kobe Eikmeier went 4 for 4 with four runs scored and two RBI while finishing just a home run away from the cycle.
Nate Soelter scored three times and drove in three while hitting his first home run of the season.
Mariano Gomez (4-0) was dominant on the mound again, allowing a pair of runs, one earned, on three hits while striking out nine.
Josiah Petersen finished the game with a scoreless seventh inning, picking up a strikeout and walking a batter.
The Vikings scored first after a throwing error on a Heinsch steal allowed
Brandon Weigel to score. Heinsch came in on a wild pitch and then
Carter McPeak was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a Lind single to make it 3-0 Vikings after a half inning of play.
The Vikings struck again in the second when Heinsch brought home Eikmeier on an RBI single. The Huskies countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-1.
Soelter walked to lead off the fourth inning and flew into home on an Eikmeier double to keep the offense rolling. After a sac bunt from Weigel, Heinsch drove Eikmeier home on a sac fly to make it 6-1 AU.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Soelter led off the sixth inning with a bunt single before an Eikmeier triple brought him around to score. Weigel added a single to drive him home and Heinsch singled before
Troy Berg was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
It would be
Ragan Pinnow who singled to keep the Vikings moving station-to-station and McPeak added an RBI hit by pitch to force a pitching change with AU leading 10-1 and nobody out.
The Huskies would get their first out of the inning following the move but
Ryan Clementi stepped into a pinch hit opportunity and drilled a double to left center, scoring a pair and boosting the lead to 11.
Soelter kept it rolling on the next at bat, hitting a three-run blast to left to clear the bases and Heinsch would round the scoring with an RBI double to make it 16-1. The Huskies added a run in the sixth to bring the game to its final score.
Game two: Augustana 13, St. Cloud State 3, 7 innings
Heinsch added two hits and four RBI while Pinnow and Lind had two hits of their own to lead the offense in game two.
Ethan Hoffman struck out seven and allowed three runs, two earned, in six innings while moving to 4-1 on the season and
Logan Von Berge had a strikeout and allowed a hit in the final inning.
The Huskies struck for two in the bottom of the first before the Viking offense attacked. Pinnow singled to open the second before McPeak and Lind added singles to load the bases.
Jake Lundquist grounded into a fielder's choice to score a run before an Eikmeier single scored a pair to give the Vikings the lead.
Weigel had a sac bunt on the next pitch and Soelter beat out a flip at the plate to add a run and Heinsch followed with a triple to score two. He came in on a sac fly and, just like that, the Vikings held a 7-2 lead.
Mayhem ensued on the bases in the fourth. With two on and two outs, Berg singled to load the bases. Eikmeier started the inning's scoring with a steal of home and then a pair of balks scored a pair of runs to make it 10-2. Heinsch added a two-run blast in the sixth and Pinnow had a solo shot of his own to end the Viking scoring before the Huskies added a run, bringing the game to its final score.
The teams will play the final game of the series at noon on Saturday at Ronken Field.
