Box Score  NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Augustana took a 10-1 lead after five and a half innings Wednesday and hung on for a 10-7 win over North Central at Zimmerman Stadium. With the win, Coach Greg Wallace's club takes two of three on the year from the Cardinals and improves to 15-6 overall and 7-2 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. North Central drops to 13-8 overall and 5-4 in the CCIW.
 
While Augustana starter Zach Morgenstern was shutting out the Cardinal offense for four innings, his North Central counterpart, Andrew Houser, didn't make it through the second inning. Reigning CCIW Hitter of the Week Jacob Van Duyne (Wilmington HS, Wilmington, Ill.) led off the game with a double down the right field line and—after junior Brandon Jasper (Central HS, DeWitt, Iowa) reached on an error—scored the game's first run on a Danny Fifer (Lincoln Way-West HS, New Lenox, Ill.) fielder's choice grounder.
 
The Vikings added three in the second, knocking Houser out in the process. Junior catcher Nick Tenerelli (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) led off with a walk and moved to second on a Kyle Lenihan (Romeoville HS, Romeoville, Ill.) single to right. Another base on balls to sophomore John Swiderski (Geneva HS, Geneva, Ill.)  loaded the bases and classmate Trace Gingerich (Sherrard HS, Sherrard, Ill.) followed with an infield single to make it 2-0. A walk to Alex Fluehr (Harlem HS, Loves Park, Ill.) forced in another run and Van Duyne knocked in the final run of the frame with a fielder's choice grounder.
 
North Central reliever Jon Rashid kept Augustana off the board until the fifth, when senior Grant Stewart (Sterling HS, Sterling, Ill.) singled and Tenerelli drew another walk to start the inning. Lenihan moved both runners up with the first of his two successful sacrifices on the day and Swiderski plated them with a double to the gap in left center. Although Swiderski was picked off second, Gingerich singled and scored on a Fluehr triple to put the visitors up 7-0.
 
The Cardinals got to Morgenstern for a run in the bottom of the fifth on a Sam Klein double, a balk and an RBI ground out by Zac Pacanowski. However, another single by Stewart and Tenerelli's third walk of the game preceded Lenihan's three-run homer in the sixth, resulting in a 10-1 Viking lead.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the hosts knocked Morgenstern out with four runs and added a fifth off junior Kevin Hodgman (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.). The big blow was Klein's two-run single to left.
 
Hodgman stranded two runners in the seventh, but Klein led off the eighth with a double to left center, moved to third on a fly out and scored on a wild pitch to get the Cardinals to within 10-7. After a walk to Nick DeWolf, Wallace summoned reliever Cooper SantAmour (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) from the bullpen and Tenerelli helped out the freshman by cutting down DeWolf on an attempted steal to end the inning.
 
SantAmour retired North Central in order in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.
 
Lenihan finished the day 2-for-2 with a homer, two runs scored, three driven in and a pair of successful sacrifices. Van Duyne, Stewart, Swiderski and Gingerich each had two hits as well. Tenerelli was 1-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored. Stewart scored twice and Swiderski and Fluehr each knocked in a pair.
 
The Vikings, who trail league-leading Illinois Wesleyan by one game, play a big three-game series against the Titans (14-8, 8-1) this weekend. The teams square off in a doubleheader in Bloomington, Illinois on Saturday, April 12, beginning at 1:00 p.m. and play a single game at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field on Sunday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m.