AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Augustana baseball team (9-3) improved their overall record this afternoon with a 13-11 victory over the Buccaneers of Beloit College. The marathon matchup lasted nearly five hours and 11 full innings before the Vikings walked it off with a three-run home run.
 
Beloit struck first in the top of the first with a single to score James Wicker. Both teams went cold until the third inning when Matt Ozanic singled home Zachary Vrbancic to tie the game. In the fifth, Augustana grabbed their first lead of the game on a passed ball to plate Jacob Barker. In the same half inning, Ozanic delivered a sacrifice fly to score Simon.
 
Beloit then went on an impressive run through the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. The Buccaneers benefitted from a double, a three-run home run, and a handful of Viking miscues to build a 10-4 lead after eight.
 
Augustana refused to quit, however, and struck back in their half of the eighth inning. Chase Maifield stepped up to the plate in a pinch hitting situation and proceeded to deposit a ball over the right field fence for a grand slam home run. The Maifield blast trimmed the deficit to just 10-8. One inning later, Brett Benedetti singled to score two more and tie the game at 10 runs apiece.
 
In extras, Beloit put themselves in a good position with an RBI single by Matt O'Leary to take an 11-10 lead. Augie was not finished with their late-inning rally and delivered the final blow in the bottom of the 11^th frame. With two runners on, Kyle Wise smacked a deep drive out of the park for a walk-off three-run home run.
 
The 11^th-inning homer was Wise's second hit of the day as he was one of four Vikings with multiple hits against Beloit.
 
Josh Chamberlain, the Vikings' winning pitcher, was one of nine hurlers to toe the rubber in Friday's contest. Chamberlain earned his first W of the year with just one strikeout in 0.1 innings.
 
Augustana will continue play at the RussMatt Invitational tomorrow afternoon with a game against the Kohawks of Coe College.