CAROL STREAM, Ill. – Millikin bats pounded out 19 hits and Big Blue arms limited Augustana to just four Thursday in a 14-1 CCIW Tournament win over the Vikings at Lee Pfund Stadium. Millikin won its second game of the day to improve to 23-18 on the year, while Augustana, playing its tourney opener, dropped to 26-14-1. Coach Greg Wallace's bunch will be back in action at Pfund on Friday, May 10 at 4:00

p.m. versus an opponent to be determined.
 
The Big Blue gave their starter, Connor Gross, more than enough runs with five in the top of the first. Senior Mike Powers (Benet Academy, Westmont, Ill.) hit Anthony Bryan with the first pitch of the game and followed with a walk to Kyle Kane. Consecutive singles plated the first run of the contest before Andrew Auton made it 4-0 with a three-run double to right center. The final run of the inning came home on a fielder's choice.
 
Senior Ryan Kairis (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.) led off the bottom of the first with a ground-rule double and scored the Vikings only run on an RBI single to center by classmate Tyler Nunez (Byron HS, Byron, Ill.). Gross retired the next three batters without incident.
 
Millikin added three runs in the fourth, knocking out Powers in the process, and extended the lead to 11-1 with three more in the fifth. The Big Blue added a run in the sixth and Jon Walters' two-run homer to left in the seventh capped the scoring.
 
Gross exited after six innings. Reliever Michael Staszcuk set Augustana down in order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game early.
 
Gross got the win to move to 7-4 on the year. He allowed four hits and a run in six innings, walking two and fanning three.
 
Kairis had two of the Vikings' four hits, with Nunez and freshman Matt Helms (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) getting the other two.
 
Seven Big Blue had multiple hits, led by three each from Bryan, Brent Beals and Gabe Soria. Bryan scored three times and Auton had three RBI.
 
Powers gave up seven runs on eight hits in three-plus innings. He walked one and struck out two and fell to 1-3 on the season. Junior Chris Refka (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) and sophomore Josh Chamberlain (Legacy HS, Thornton, Colo.) followed out of the pen and were touched for a combined seven runs on 11 hits.