MOLINE, Ill. – Augustana dropped both ends of its doubleheader with North Central Friday at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field, falling 13-2 in the opener and 4-1 in the nightcap. The Vikings are now 22-11-1 on the season and 11-7 in the CCIW, while the league-leading Cardinals improved to 25-8 overall and 15-3 in the conference. The teams are scheduled to complete their three-game series with a single game

in Naperville, Illinois on Sunday, April 28 at 1:00 p.m.
 
NORTH CENTRAL 13, AUGUSTANA 2
 
After Augustana grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opener, it was all North Central, as the guests scored in each of the last five frames of the seven-inning contest.
 
Senior Mike Powers (Benet Academy Westmont, Ill.) left three Cardinals stranded in the top of the first and his teammates gave him a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Freshman Matt Ozanic (East Leyden HS, Franklin Park, Ill.) reached on an error on an error leading off and classmate Drew Davis (Illini Bluffs HS, Mapleton, Ill.) doubled him to third. Sam Beyer's (Legend HS, Parker, Ill.) RBI grounder got the Vikings on the board and senior Nick Mosele (University HS, Bloomington, Ill.) singled in Davis to make it 2-0.
 
North Central answered with a run in the third and four in the fourth to go up 5-2. Rob Marinec's two-run single was the big hit in the fourth.
 
The Cardinals added eight more runs over the next three innings, while Austin Polezoes was silencing the Augustana bats. The North Central starter left one out shy of the complete game, but got the win to improve to 4-2 on the season.
 
Recently back from an injury, Powers suffered his first loss in two decisions this year. He went 3 2/3 innings and gave up five runs, four of which were earned. He issued an uncharacteristic five walks while fanning six.
 
Senior Tyler Nunez (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.) went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Viking offense. Marinec and Matt Sutherland each had three hits for the visitors.
 
NORTH CENTRAL 4, AUGUSTANA 1
 
The hosts jumped in front in the nightcap as well, but then saw their bats go quiet against Cardinal hurlers Charlie Klemm, Patrick Schaefer and Justin Rios.
 
Augustana starter Matt Hoban (Monarch HS, Westminster, Colo.) pitched around a pair of hits in the top of the first before the Vikings tallied their lone run in the bottom half. Nunez singled with one out and Gunnar Haskins (Alleman HS, Moline, Ill.) walked with two down. Freshman Kyle Wise (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) followed with a single to center, scoring Nunez from second with the game's first run.
 
Hoban checked North Central until the fourth, when he hit Marinec leading off. Two outs later, Joe Rizzo singled Marinec to third and RBI singles by Ryan Scott and Jared Wojcik gave the Cardinals a 2-1 advantage.
 
A Marinec sacrifice fly in the fifth made it 3-1 and North Central added a run in the ninth on another by Michael Stoltz. Rios fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth to close things out for his third save.
 
Only two Vikings reached after the first inning, both on hit batters by Klemm. The Cardinal starter went six innings and fanned 11 to earn his sixth win in as many decisions this year. Schaefer threw two perfect innings before Rios finished up.
 
Hoban (2-3) gave up seven hits and three runs in a six-inning stint. He walked one and struck out three. Sophomore Alec Michaelson (Willowbrook HS, Lombard, Ill.) gave up an unearned run in two-plus innings of work before classmate John Hayes (Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village, Colo.) finished up in the ninth.