MOLINE, Ill. – Augustana's bullpen threw six scoreless innings Wednesday as the Vikings defeated their namesakes from North Park 9-5 at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field. The win lifted Coach Greg Wallace's 24th-ranked club to 18-3 on the season and 10-3 and tied for first in the CCIW. The visitors dropped to 9-12 overall and 4-12 in the league.
 
Starter Sam Cregan (Air Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.) set NPU down in order in the top of the first and his teammates scored him three runs in the bottom half, batting around for the fifth time in 10 innings, going back to Monday's doubleheader with Wheaton. NPU's Julian Ledezma retired the first two batters, but Mitchell Owens (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) singled to left, stole second and scored the game's first run on Matt Ozanic's (East Leyden HS, Franklin Park, Ill.) single to right. Chase Maifield (Grant HS, Round Lake, Ill.) added an RBI single in the frame and the hosts scored their third run on a bases-loaded walk to Alec McGinnis (Normal West HS, Normal, Ill.).
 
Augustana added a pair of runs in the second, knocking Ledezma out in the process. Jacob Barker (Windsor HS, Severance, Colo.) was hit by a pitch leading off and later scored on a single to right by Alex Simon (Hinsdale Central HS, Naperville, Ill.). Brett Benedetti (Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village, Colo.) knocked in Simon with a sacrifice fly to left to make it 5-0 after two.
 
Justin Swanson had a leadoff double in a five-run North Park third. The big hit in the inning was Justin Woolbright's two-run single to center and he eventually scored the tying run on a single by Bobby Bartlett.
 
Jared Cantu led off the NPU fourth with an infield hit, knocking out Cregan in favor of Max Mead (Lakewood HS, Lakewood, Colo.). Mead picked off Cantu, retired the next two batters and quieted the guests' bats through the fifth and sixth innings as well.
 
Augustana got the lead back in the fifth. Two walks and McGinnis' bunt single loaded the bases for Zachary Vrbancic (Stagg HS, Palos Hills, Ill.), who drove in two runs with a single to left center. Simon drove in another run with a double to right center and the hosts led 8-5.
 
Benedetti was hit by a pitch leading off the bottom of the sixth and scored the game's final run on Matt Helms' (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) single to left center.
 
Jacob Reusch (Mercer County HS, Aledo, Ill.) came out of the pen after a leadoff single in the seventh and shut North Park down for two innings. Wallace decided to give closer John Hayes (Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village, Colo.) an inning of work in the ninth and the right-hander retired the side in order to close things out.
 
Mead gave up three hits, walked none and fanned three in three scoreless innings. He got the win in his first decision of the year. Reusch surrendered two hits in two shutout innings, with no walks and three strikeouts. Brett Brueske (0-1) took the loss in relief for North Park.
 
Owens stayed hot (11 hits in his last 17 at-bats), going 3-for-5 with a run scored. Simon was 2-for-4 with one scored and two knocked in and Helms and McGinnis each went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
 
Wallace's club is back in action on Saturday, April 17, taking on Illinois Wesleyan in a doubleheader in Bloomington, Illinois. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.