Box Score

MOLINE, Ill. – Half a dozen Vikings had multi-hit games Wednesday night as Augustana blasted Knox 15-5 at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field. With its third straight win, Coach Greg Wallace's club improved to 23-10 on the year. The Prairie Fire fell to 9-19 this season.
 
The first four runs of the contest were unearned. An error led to a Viking run in the bottom of the second. Senior Kyle Lenihan (Romeoville HS, Romeoville, Ill.) delivered junior John Swiderski (Geneva HS, Geneva) with a single to center. Knox answered with three unearned runs off Augustana starter Kevin Hodgman (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) in the top of the third.
 
A leadoff walk by junior Alex Fluehr (Harlem HS,, Loves Park, Ill.) led to five Viking runs in the bottom of the third. Junior Nathan Gray (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) had a two-run single and junior Trace Gingerich (Sherrard HS, Sherrard, Ill.) and Lenihan drove in runs with a single and ground out, respectively.
 
Both teams continued to put runs on the board. The Prairie Fire got a pair off sophomore reliever Nick Refka (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) in the fourth, cutting the Augustana lead to 6-5. The Vikings responded two in the bottom half on RBI singles by senior Danny Fifer (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox, Ill.) and Swiderski.
 
Senior Brandon Jasper's (Central HS, DeWitt, Iowa) RBI double in the fifth scored Lenihan to make it 9-5 Augustana.
 
The Vikings put the game away with a six-run seventh. Fifer had a two-run single. Swiderski and Gingerich added RBI singles and Lenihan two-run single ended the game early.
 
Freshman Gerrit Elzinga (Monarch HS, Louisville, Ill.) came out of the pen to start the fifth and threw two scoreless innings to earn his second win in as many decisions. Junior Chris Sauer (Rock Canyon HS, Littleton, Colo.) set Knox down in order in the top of the seventh.
 
Jasper, Gray, Fifer and Swiderski—the top four batters in Wallace's order—combined for 11 hits, 11 runs and eight RBI. Jasper was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Gray was 2-for-3 with three scored and two driven in. Fifer finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three knocked in and Swiderski ended up 3-for-5 with three scored and two driven in. Gingerich (2-for-5, two RBI) and Lenihan (3-for-5, four RBI) had big nights as well.
 
Augustana is at Wheaton on Friday, April 24. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.