WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Augustana offense enjoyed two big innings Saturday and
Sam Cregan (Air Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.) went the distance on the mound as the Vikings downed Capital 9-3 at Chain of Lakes Park. Coach
Greg Wallace's club won its fifth straight to open the season, while the Crusaders fell in their season opener.
Sophomore Sam Cregan went the
distance Saturday, as Augustana downed
Capital 9-3 in Winter Haven, Florida.
After Cregan induced three consecutive ground outs in the top of the first, his teammates got him five runs in the bottom half.
Freshman
Josh Barker (Windsor HS, Severance, Colo.) led off with a single against Alex Mukensturm and
Tyler Nunez (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) and
Gunnar Haskins (Alleman HS, Moline, Ill.) followed with walks to load the bases.
Jake Huber's (Lockport HS, Homer Glen, Ill.) RBI single made it 1-0. After a walk to
Ryan Grannemann (McHenry West HS, McHenry, Ill.) forced in another run,
Will Troia (Boylan HS, Rockford, Ill.) cleared the bases with a double and Augustana led 5-0 after an inning.
Capital got on the board in the fourth when Beau Otto singled in Bryce Grisez, but the Vikings answered with four in the bottom of the frame.
Freshman
Drew Davis (Illini Bluffs HS, Mapleton, Ill.) led off with a homer to make it 6-1. Nunez squeezed a single in between a pair of walks and Grannemann drove in a run with a hit.
Mitchell Owens' (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) two-run single extended Augustana's advantage to 9-1.
Grisez had an RBI single in the Capital fifth and the Crusaders plated an unearned run against Cregan in the sixth, but the sophomore, making his first career start, retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced to close things out.
Cregan (1-0) scattered 10 hits, walk one and fanned seven for his first career win. Mukensturm went 4 1/3 and suffered the loss.
Nunez and Grannemann—both hitting over .500 this spring—each went 2-for-4, as did Huber. Barker, Nunez and Huber each scored twice. Troia knocked in three and Granneman and Owens two apiece.
After an off day Sunday, Wallace's bunch is back in action at Chain of Lakes on Monday, February 25, taking on Cabrini at 10:00 a.m. EST.
