Box Score

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Augustana pounded out 19 hits Saturday, including six that went for extra bases, as the Vikings downed Concordia-Moorhead 15-4. Six players had multi-hit games, as Coach Greg Wallace's club improved to 6-1 on the season. The Cobbers dropped to 5-3.
 
Augustana took the lead with three runs in the top of the second. Sophomore John Moraski (Kewanee HS, Kewanee, Ill.) knocked in the first with a double to center that plated Alex Fluehr (Harlem HS, Loves Park, Ill.). Freshman Ryan Kairis (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.), who is nine-of-11 in two games against Concordia this year, drove in the other two with a single to right.
 
Fluehr made it 4-0 Vikings, driving in a run with an infield hit in the third.
 
John  Swiderski's (Geneva HS, Geneva, Ill.) leadoff triple keyed a four-run Augustana fifth. He scored on a Trace Gingerich (Sherrard HS, Sherrard, Ill.) single. Junior Cayton Wallace (Assumption HS, Rock Island, Ill.) added an RBI single and sophomore Matt Loeffl (Grayslake HS, Grayslake, Ill.) and senior Nathan Gray (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) each drew a walk that pushed across a run and the Vikings led 8-0 after four and a half.
 
Meanwhile, starter Chris Sauer (Rock Canyon HS, Littleton, Colo.) shut the Cobbers out for four innings, before they touched him for two in the bottom of the fifth. Consecutive doubles by Phil Kuball and Aaron Green and an RBI single by Jordan Domine plated Concordia's runs.
 
The Cobbers added single runs off relievers Mitch Malone (Minooka HS, Minooka, Ill.) and Darwin Townsend (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) in the sixth and seventh, respectively, to cut the deficit to 8-4, but Augustana exploded for seven more runs in the final two innings to put the game on ice. Fluehr had a two-run double in the eighth and Moraski and Gray both had RBI triples in the ninth.
 
Sauer evened his record at 1-1 with the win. He surrendered six hits and two runs in a five-inning stint, walking two and fanning eight. Townsend struck out six over the final three frames to earn his first save of the year.
 
Kairis continued on his tear, going 4-for-5 with a run and two RBI. The Vikings' senior keystone combination of Gingerich and Fluehr each had three hits. Gingerich scored twice and knocked in two and Fluehr scored a pair and drove in three. Gray, Wallace and Moraski each had a pair of hits as well. Swiderski scored three runs.
 
On Sunday, February 28, Augustana will wrap up its first swing through Florida with a 10:30 a.m. (EST) contest against the St. Vincent Bearcats.