SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana baseball team opened a three-game set with Sioux Falls on Friday night, charging back late for an 8-6 victory at the Birdcage.
Records
Augustana 31-12, 24-6 NSIC
Sioux Falls 22-20, 18-11 NSIC
Kobe Eikmeier had two hits, including a double, and two RBI while scoring a run, leading a group of three Vikings with multiple hits.
Ragan Pinnow also went 2 for 4 with a double while
Troy Berg went 2 for 4 with a triple.
Ethan Hoffman allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and five walks while striking out five in 3 2 /3 innings of work.
Ryan Clementi cleaned up the fourth and finished with 2 2/3 scoreless frames while picking up a strikeout.
Jadon Bast entered with an out in the sixth, walking a batter, getting an out and hitting a pair of Cougars to allow a run.
Jack Sutton got the final out of the seventh inning and the first out of the eighth and
Adam Diedrich got the final five outs to tie Bret Severtson for first on the program's all-time saves list with 24.
Eikmeier led off the game with a double down the left field line before a pair of wild pitches brought him home to give the Vikings an early 1-0 advantage. In the top of the second,
Jake Lundquist drew a one-out walk with the bases loaded and Eikmeier moved AU station-to-station with an RBI single to grow the lead.
The Cougars would go on to score a run in the second and two in the third to even the score. Eikmeier would tally another RBI with a fielder's choice but two more USF runs in the bottom of the fourth would give them a 5-4 lead.
That would hold until another Viking strike in the seventh inning. Pinnow singled with one out to try and get something cooking. With two outs, Berg lifted a drive off the wall in left center for a triple to bring Pinnow home and even the game at 5-5. The Cougars took advantage of five free passes in the bottom of the inning to score a run and reclaim the lead at 6-5.
In the top of the eighth,
Brandon Weigel hit a leadoff single and moved to second on a wild pitch. After an Eikmeier sac bunt, another wild pitch brought him home to tie the game. Soelter drew a walk on the same at bat and came all the way around on a
Carter McPeak triple for another AU lead. McPeak would score on a Pinnow sac fly to make it 8-6 Vikings.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, two Cougars reached with one out. Diedrich was summoned there, striking out a pair to keep the Vikings in front. In the bottom of the ninth, he went on to bookend the ninth with strikeouts to move into a tie at the top of the all-time saves list.
The Vikings and Cougars will play the second game of their three-game set on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch set for 2 p.m.
