Box Score

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – John Sagen (Naperville North HS, Naperville, Ill.) drove in the tying run in the top of the ninth and John Moraski (Kewanee HS, Kewanee, Ill.) the go-ahead run in the 10th Thursday, as Augustana rallied to defeat Brandeis 4-2 at Chain of Lakes Stadium. The victory kept the Vikings unbeaten on the season at 4-0. Coach Greg Wallace's club will be back in action on Saturday, February 25, taking on Otterbein in Auburndale, Florida.
 
With one out in the ninth and Augustana trailing 2-1, senior Mitchel Ruh (Hinckley-Big Rock HS, Big Rock, Ill.) was hit by a Greg Tobin pitch. Sophomore Nick Mosele (University HS, Bloomington, Ill.) ran for Ruh and moved to third on a Cayton Wallace (Assumption HS, Rock Island, Ill.) single to center. Sagen was called on as a pinch-hitter and his grounder back to Tobin plated Mosele with the tying run.
 
Senior Casey Weir (Warren HS, Gurnee, Ill.) set the Judges down in order in the bottom of the ninth and the Viking bats went back to work. Junior Tyler Nunez (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) led off the 10th with a single to right and sophomore Ryan Kairis (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.) sacrificed him to second. After Daniel Schupper relieved Tobin, junior Jack Hallmark (Cherry Creek HS, Englewood, Colo.) reached on a bunt single and Carter Amundsen (Sheboygan South HS, Sheboygan, Wis.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Moraski followed with an infield hit, scoring Nunez to put Augustana up 3-2. The Vikings added an insurance run when Schupper hit Ryan Grannemann (McHenry West HS, McHenry, Ill.) with the bases loaded.
 
Brandeis loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame, but Weir induced a Mosele-to-Nunez-to-Tommy Kiriakopoulos (Huntley HS, Lake in the Hills, Ill.) double play to end the game.
 
Brandeis took a 1-0 lead in the first. Jay Schaff touched Viking starter Connor Berek (Riverside-Brookfield HS, Brookfield, Ill.) for a leadoff double—the first extra base hit surrendered by an Augustana hurler this year—and he scored on a Dan O'Leary single one out later.
 
Each team plated a run in the fifth. Kiriakopoulos singled to right with one out, moved to third on a Nunez double and scored on a Kairis single. In the bottom half, Ryan Tettemer drove in an unearned run with an infield hit to put the Judges back on top 2-1.
 
Weir (1-0) threw three scoreless innings and got the win. Berek, in his first collegiate start, allowed two runs—one earned—in 4 1/3 innings before exiting in favor of sophomore Mike Powers (Benet Academy, Westmont, Ill.). Powers went 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Wallace had three hits and Nunez and Kairis two each to pace the offense.
 
Tobin absorbed the loss for Brandeis (0-4), which got two hits each from Tettemer and Kyle Lussier.