MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Augustana baseball wrapped up their stay in Tennessee on Sunday, falling in the third game of the Rhodes Classic to the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds by a 10-8 final. 

Augie opened against right-handed tosser Nico Smith, with just one Viking reaching base. Nathaniel Sammer got the nod for Augustana, picking off a Blugold in the opening frame but allowing up two hits which converted to a 1-0 advantage for Eau Claire. The Blugold had a big second inning to push their advantage to 6-0 after two complete. 

The Vikings corrected the course in the third inning, earning three runs to cut the six-point deficit in half. Cole Green reached first on a fielding error before an Alec McGinnis double put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Alex Simon walked, giving Kyle Campbell a bases-loaded opportunity at the plate. Campbell singled and advanced to second, with two Blugold errors helping Simon, McGinnis, and Green score. Augie left three runners on base entering the bottom of the third, where a two-run Blugold bomb helped cushion the Eau Claire lead to 8-3.

Two hit-by-pitches aided Augustana to open the fourth frame, positioning two runners to score. Chase Maifield hit a liner to the third baseman, who recorded an error, advancing Simon to third and scoring Green for the second time. Another error from Eau Claire prompted two additional runs from Maifield and Simon to bring the score to 8-6. 

Michael Aragon scored a run in the top of the fifth following a double from Simon to bring the score to 8-7. Eau Claire produced two runs in the bottom of the inning in response to pull ahead by three. The two teams exchanged back-to-back scoreless innings before the Vikings added a run in the top of the eighth. An Aragon double brought home pinch-hitter Jacob Pauwels, who scored the first run of his varsity career. Augie's offense could not pull through in the ninth after having two runners in scoring position, resulting in their second loss of the season. 

Augie kept their bats warm from Saturday's seven-run outing, recording eight hits as a team, with Simon and Aragon leading the way with two apiece. Simon and Green both tallied two runs scored, while Reusch was the Vikings leading tosser, claiming four strikeouts in relief. 

The Vikings move to 1-2 and will travel to Jacksonville, Ill., on Friday for a matchup against Illinois College at 1:30 p.m.