MOLINE, Ill. – Augustana got strong pitching and timely hitting Thursday to take a home-opening doubleheader from Cornell by scores of 8-0 and 7-3. The wins lifted Coach Greg Wallace's club to 7-0 on the season. The Vikings and Rams (0-5) are scheduled to be back at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field on Tuesday, March 16 for a single game at 3:00 p.m.
 
AUGUSTANA 8, CORNELL 0
 
Senior Matt Hoban (Monarch HS, Westmisnster, Colo.) threw seven scoreless innings and the bottom of the Augustana order provided great production in the opener.
 
Hoban and Cornell starter Jake Schope matched goose eggs through 3½ innings before the Vikings got to Schope for three in the fourth. Griffen Pschigoda (Wheaton Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.) line a two-out single to left center and moved to second on a Ram misplay. Freshman Alec McGinnis (Normal West HS, Normal, Ill.) followed with an RBI double to right center and later scored on Zachary Vrbancic's (Stagg HS, Palos Hills, Ill.) double to right. One batter later, freshman Alex Simon (Hinsdale Central HS, Naperville, Ill.) knocked in Vrbancic with a single to make it 3-0.
 
McGinnis and Vrbancic singled in the sixth. Vrbancic plated McGinnis with his hit and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.
 
Pschigoda cut down a runner stealing to help Hoban pitch around two walks in the top of the seventh and Augustana tallied three in the bottom half. Kyle Wise (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) led off with a pop-fly single and came around to score on Chase Maifield's (Grant HS, Round Lake, Ill.) pinch single through the right side. Pschigoda doubled in a run and Vrbancic drove in the Vikings' final run with an RBI groundout.
 
Brandon Johnson (Rye HS, Colorado City, Colo.) relieved Hoban to start the eighth and retired Cornell without incident. Spencer Hasselroth (Rock Island HS, Milan, Ill.) did the same in the ninth to finish off the combined shutout.
 
The seven, eight and nine hitters in Wallace's order—Pschigoda (2-for-4), McGinnis (3-for-4) and Vrbancic (3-for-4)—combined  to go 8-for-12 with five runs scored and five knocked in. Vrbancic scored twice and drove in three. Simon had two hits as well. Hoban (2-0) surrendered just three hits and two walks while fanning six in seven innings. Schope (0-1) took the loss.
 
AUGUSTANA 7, CORNELL 3
 
In the nightcap, Viking starter Alec Michaelson (Willowbrook HS, Lombard, Ill.) helped his own cause in the top of the first with a diving catch of a popped up bunt that he turned in to a double play. His teammates rewarded him with a pair of runs in the bottom half and four more in the second.
 
Brett Benedetti (Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village, Colo.) and Simon started the bottom of the first with singles and both scored on Matt Helms' (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) two-out, two-run single to right. Benedetti singled in one run and Wise a pair in the second inning as Augustana took a 6-0 lead.
 
The Rams plated their only run off Michaelson in the third on a dropped third strike, a single and an RBI fielder's choice.
 
The Vikings added their final run when Maifield launched a towering one-out homer to right in the fifth.
 
Lefty Jacob Reusch (Mercer County HS, Aledo, Ill.) came out of the pen and threw a scoreless seventh and Nathaniel Sammer (Le Roy HS, Le Roy, Ill.) set Cornell down in order in the eighth.
 
Josh Chamberlain (Legacy HS, Thornton, Colo.) came on in relief with a run in and the bases loaded in the ninth. The Rams added an unearned run, but Chamberlain avoided further trouble, retiring them for his first save of the season.
 
Michaelson (1-0) scattered seven hits and walked none. He struck out seven in six innings to earn the win. Simon finished 3-for-5, while Benedetti, Maifield, Pschigoda and McGinnis added two hits each. Benedetti scored twice and Wise and Helms each drove in a pair. Cornell starter Brett Potter (0-1) suffered the loss.