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CHICAGO, Ill. – Augustana scored 14 runs in the final two innings of Saturday's doubleheader opener at North Park, rallying for a 17-7 win. The Vikings carried that momentum over to the nightcap, completing the sweep with a 12-6 win. Coach Greg Wallace's club closes the regular season 28-12 overall and 14-10 in the CCIW. NPU finishes the year 15-25 and 8-16 in the conference.
 
Depending on the outcome of the Wheaton at North Central game on Monday, May 8, Augustana will finish in either a second-place tie (if North Central wins) or in third place (if Wheaton wins). The CCIW Tournament will start Thursday, May 11 in either Naperville or Carol Stream, Illinois.
 
AUGUSTANA 17, NORTH PARK 7
 
North Park starter Matt Pizur was cruising along with a 7-3 lead going to the top of the eighth in the opener. Singles by seniors Peter Doughty (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.), Mitchel Ruh (Hinckley-Big Rock HS, Big Rock, Ill.) and Cayton Wallace (Assumption HS, Rock Island, Ill.) loaded the bases with one out. John Moraski (Kewanee HS, Kewanee, Ill.) singled in a run to knock out Pizur and pinch-hitter Mike Avella (Crystal Lake South HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.) greeted reliever Charles Robin with another RBI single to trim the deficit to 7-5. Sophomore Ryan Kairis (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.) plated a run with an infield hit and Carter Amundsen (Sheboygan South HS, Sheboygan, Wis.) singled in a pair to give the visitors an 8-7 lead. Tyler Nunez (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) singled in another and Ruh drove in the final run of the frame with a grounder that NPU mishandled. By the end of the inning, Augustana led 11-7.
 
After senior Nick Refka (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) set the hosts down in order in the bottom of the eighth, his teammates gave him another half-dozen runs in the top of the ninth. Doughty's grand slam to right was the big hit. Refka pitched around two hits in the bottom of the ninth to close out the victory.
 
Justin Joy's (Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.) RBI groundout in the second gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead, but North Park answered with two in the bottom half and then added five more in the fourth. Matt Loeffl (Grayslake HS, Grayslake, Ill.) and Wallace had RBI singles in the Augustana sixth to cut the deficit to 7-3.
 
Doughty went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and four driven in. Wallace was 3-for-6 and Amundsen had three RBI. Mitch Malone (Minooka HS, Minooka, Ill.) (2-0) threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings and picked up the win.
 
AUGUSTANA 12, NORTH PARK 6
 
The Vikings took a 5-0 lead in the nightcap. Kairis singled and scored on a Ruh sacrifice fly in the first and Amundsen drove in a run with an infield hit in the second. Kairis followed with a three-run homer to right.
 
NPU got to Zach Morgenstern (Peoria Notre Dame HS, East Peoria, Ill.) for three runs in the bottom of the second. Nate Simons' two-run single to center was the big hit and he added a two-run double in the third to tie the game 5-5.
 
Kairis put Augustana back on top with an RBI single in the fourth. The Vikings plated another run on an error and Ruh's sacrifice fly to center made 8-5 after three and a half. Freshman Chris Refka (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) came out of the pen to start the bottom of the fourth.
 
Augustana added three runs in the seventh before NPU finally got to Refka for a run in the bottom half. Doubles by Ruh and Wallace plated the final run of the contest in the eighth.
 
Kairis ended up 4-for-5 with four RBI. Amundsen, Doughty, Ruh and Nunez each had two hits. Refka (1-3) got the win. He went six innings, allowing one run on four hits with eight strikeouts.