Box Score  GALESBURG, Ill. – Freshman right-hander Kyle McGinley (Mullen HS, Denver, Colo.) came out of the pen and threw six scoreless innings Wednesday as Coach Greg Wallace's Augustana baseball team defeated Knox 12-4 at Blodgett Field. The Vikings improved to 21-9 on the season, while the Prairie Fire slipped to .500, at 13-13.
 
The top of Wallace's order got on base and the middle of the lineup knocked them in. Senior Jacob Van Duyne (Wilmington HS, Wilmington, Ill.) and juniors Brandon Jasper (Central HS, DeWitt, Iowa) and Danny Fifer (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox, Ill.), the first three batters in the Viking order, scored nine of the team's 12 runs, while hitters three through seven in the lineup accounted for nine of the team's 11 RBI in the game.
 
Augustana staked starter Kevin Hodgman (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) to a 6-1 lead after an inning and a half, getting three runs in each of the first two innings. Van Duyne led off the game with a single and scored the first run on a Knox error. Junior Jacques Camalick (Hinsdale Central HS, Burr Ridge, Ill.) had a two-run single in the first as well. The Prairie Fire answered with a run in the bottom half on Ryan Weitendor's RBI fielder's choice.
 
The Vikings opened the second with consecutive singles off the bats of sophomore Alex Fluehr (Harlem HS, Loves Park, Ill.), Van Duyne and Jasper. With the bases loaded, Fifer plated Fluehr and moved Van Duyne to third with a sacrifice fly to right. After Jasper stole second, senior Grant Stewart (Sterling HS, Sterling, Ill.) came through with a two-run single for a 6-1 Augustana lead.
 
After the visitors stranded a pair of runners in the top of the third, Knox got to Hodgman for three runs in the bottom half. Two singles and a sacrifice preceded an RBI single by Erik Smoy and singles by Weitendor and Austin Bevenue each knocked in a run later in the frame, cutting the Viking advantage to 6-4.
 
An RBI groundout by junior Kyle Lenihan (Romeoville HS, Romeoville, Ill.) in the fourth inning and sacrifice flies from Nick Tenerelli (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) in the sixth and eighth innings extended the lead to 9-4.  Meanwhile, McGinley came on to start the fourth and limited the Prairie Fire to just one single in his first five innings.
 
The Vikings tacked on three in the ninth. Van Duyne tripled in a run and scored on Jasper's RBI single. Jasper came home on an RBI double by Fifer. Knox touched McGinley for two singles in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't push a run across.
 
McGinley improved to 2-1 on the year with the win. He surrendered just three singles in six innings of relief. He walked four and struck out five. Van Duyne finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and one driven in. Jasper and Fifer also scored three times each and Fifer, Stewart, Tenerelli and Camalick each knocked in two runs.
 
Wallace's club is back in action on Thursday, April 24, hosting Rockford at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.