Augustana University Athletics

PITTSBURG, Kan. - No. 17 Augustana kept its season alive on Saturday, knocking off Arkansas Tech 5-2 before a 10-8 victory over No. 3 Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon at Al Ortolani Field.

The wins move the Vikings to the "if necessary" game, a winner-take-all matchup with the host Gorillas on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch slated at 1 p.m.

Game one, Augustana 5, Arkansas Tech 2
Carter Heinsch and Jake Lundquist had two hits apiece as Lundquist drove in three runs and scored once while Heinsch added an RBI. Troy Berg scored twice, had two stolen bases and drew a walk while Ragan Pinnow also reached twice and scored a run. 

Drew Ball was dominant early and often, finishing with six innings and five strikeouts, allowing four hits and an earned run while pitching into the seventh inning. Will Henry entered with a pair on and ended up throwing the final three innings, allowing a run on two hits while striking out three. 

The game was scoreless into the bottom of the second. With one out, Pinnow singled and got to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run off the bat of Heinsch to get runners on the corners. After Heinsch got caught stealing, Lundquist lifted a two-run blast to left field to make it 2-0 AU. 

In fourth, Berg drew a one-out walk, stole second and got to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Following the second out, Berg stole home while Heinsch reached on a catcher's interference to add a run. After Heinsch stole second, Lundquist came through again, this time with a single through the left side to make it 4-0. 

The Wonder Boys would score a run in the seventh and another in the eighth to cut the deficit in half. In the bottom of the eighth, Berg doubled and Pinnow walked with one out. Heinsch rounded out the scoring there, singling through the left side to score Berg and bring the game to its final score. 

Game two: Augustana 10, Pittsburg State 8
Lundquist added to his incredible tournament run, going 4 for 5 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Pinnow added a hit and two RBI while Berg reached and scored twice. 

Josiah Petersen allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while recording just one out to open the game. Ryan Clementi entered there, going four innings and allowing two runs to steady the tide. Jadon Bast allowed a run in an inning of work and Adam Diedrich got the final 11 outs, allowing two runs and recording his eighth save of the season. 

After a leadoff out, the Vikings struck. Soelter singled and Eikmeier and Berg were each hit by a pitch to load the bases. As he has done for the last month, Lundquist delivered with an RBI single that saw a second run come in on an error. Pinnow followed with an RBI single and Heinsch drove in a run with a fielder's choice to hand AU a 4-0 lead. 

The Gorillas surged back, scoring three runs with just one out in the bottom of the first. In came Clementi, who picked off a runner at third base and, after a walk, collected a strikeout to keep the Vikings in front.

The AU lead grew as Weigel hit a leadoff home run in the second inning and Jake Lundquist added a leadoff blast of his own to grow the lead to 6-3. The Gorillas kept fighting, picking up a run in the fourth to get within two runs. 

The bats didn't go away for the Vikings. In the fifth, Berg hit a leadoff single and stole second before moving to third on a Lundquist single to get runners on the corners. Pinnow picked up a productive out, moving both a base with an RBI groundout. 

Heinsch kept the inning rolling with a single to get runners back on the corners and a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt moved Heinsch to third and scored Lundquist. Lind came through with an RBI single to give AU a 9-4 lead midway through the game. 

The Gorillas scored a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to get within two. Eikmeier added a run for the Vikings in the eighth, lifting a sac fly to score Foss and grow the lead to 10-7. 

PSU would go on to score a run in the eighth inning and loading the bases with two outs in the ninth inning. Eikmeier would cap the game, stepping on second after fielding a ground ball for a fielder's choice to add another day to the season.