BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Augustana baseball (25-9, 9-6) defeated Illinois Wesleyan (16-17, 7-8) in a road matchup on Monday night. The Vikings' win was their second straight overall and second straight over IWU.
 
Both teams started the game in similar fashion to the first two games in the season series. Neither side could produce through the first three innings. Finally, in the home half of the fourth, Louis Perona doubled to bring Jalen Ping home and give the Titans a 1-0 lead.
 
The Vikings countered in the sixth inning with a Matt Ozanic double to score Jacob Barker and a RBI single by Griffen Pschigoda. The Titans then struck back with two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to regain a one-run advantage.
 
In the top of the ninth inning, Augustana delivered what would eventually be the final blow. Alec McGinnis tripled to score Cole Green before Zachary Vrbancic's bunt allowed McGinnis to come home for the go-ahead run.
 
Ozanic went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a run driven in to lead the Viking offense. Nathaniel Sammer started on the mound for Augie but earned a no-decision after throwing five full innings. Bryce Luckey got the win with 1.2 innings of relief work including a strikeout and a walk. Addison Southwick also earned a save.
 
The Vikings will host two games in as many days with Knox College coming to town on Tuesday, May 3 and Simpson visiting on Wednesday, May 4. The next two games will be the final home contests of the season for the Vikings.