SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -
Bjorn Lind hit two home runs in the fourth inning to help the No. 25 Augustana baseball team (9-4) explode for a 15-9 victory over #18 Drury (8-4) on Friday afternoon at Mark Worley Field.
Lind finished the day with three hits, including the two home runs, and drew a walk while driving in four runs and scoring three times. He was one of eight starters to record a hit while
Ragan Pinnow added a pair of hits, walked twice and scored three times.
Mariano Gomez moved to 2-0 on the season after getting through six innings. He allowed six runs on seven hits and seven walks while striking out six.
Cal Schmelzle got a pair of outs while allowing three runs and
Myles Hanson added 1 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out a pair.
Maddox Foss entered the game in the ninth with two on but forced a double play and recorded a strikeout to end the game.
The Panthers struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the second,
Troy Berg hit a leadoff double and Pinnow walked before a double steal got them each in scoring position.
Jake Lundquist drew a walk to load the bases and then a strikeout kept them loaded with an out.
Lind broke through offensively, reaching on a bunt single to move everyone up a base and cut the deficit in half.
Kobe Eikmeier delivered a two-run single for the lead and, one pitch later, Weigel hit a three-run home run to quickly give the Vikings a 6-2 lead.
Lind opened the fourth with a solo blast to tack on another run. With two outs, the Vikings loaded the bases after a Schmelzle single and Berg HBP before Pinnow drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 8-2. Three pitches later, Lundquist drove in a pair with a double to get AU to double digits.
Cole Goeser entered as a pinch hitter and drove in two more with an RBI single. Lind stepped to the plate and finished what he started, battling at the plate before delivering a two-run home run to cap an eight-run inning and put the Vikings ahead 12 runs before a run in the fourth and a two-run fifth inning from the Panthers cut their deficit to 14-5.
Goeser added a run to the Viking total with a two-out RBI single after Pinnow reached on a triple. The Panthers countered with a run in the sixth and three runs in the seventh to bring the game to its final score.
The teams will be back in action to play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
