Box Score TOPEKA, Kan. – The Augustana baseball team defeated the Luther Norse 18-4 in the second game of a three-game trip to Kansas on Saturday.
The Vikings opened on offense, finding early success as Alec McGinnis and Alex Simon each grabbed singles to put Augie in scoring position. In the next at-bat, an RBI groundout from Kyle Campbell brought in McGinnis to give the Vikings the early lead. Josh Wintroub took the mound, forcing the Norse to go three-up and three-down, with the Vikings leading 1-0 after the frame.
The teams traded scoreless innings in the second, third, and fourth before Augie broke the drought with a nine-run fifth frame. The scoring eruption began with three straight singles from Dymitri Kanellakis, Chase Maifield, and Brett Benedetti, seeing Kanellakis score from third following the third hit. Zachary Vrbancic then laid down a successful bunt to score Maifield and advance Benedetti to second. An ensuing bunt from Cole Green juiced the bases for McGinnis, who hit a two-run single to add on to the scoring outburst. Augie drew two more walks to load the bases again, followed by Matt Ozanic driving in McGinnis from third. Kanellakis capped off the big inning with a bases-clearing triple before scoring on a wild pitch to make it 10-0.
Augustana's offense produced another fruitful outing in the sixth. With two outs and nobody on, the Vikings earned consecutive walks before a couple of stolen bases helped secure the first run of the inning. Campbell kept things going with an RBI single before another extra-base hit from Kanellakis brought in two more. Maifield contributed an RBI double of his own later on to make it 15-0. The Norse tallied their first two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
The Vikings crossed home plate three more times in the game-ending seventh inning. Three of Augie's first four batters in the frame walked, leaving a bases-loaded opportunity for Campbell, who hit an RBI single with the two other runners advancing. Green scored from third on a walk as the bases remained full. In the next at-bat, Michael Gattuso reached base on a fielder's choice to the shortstop, scoring Simon for the Vikings' final run. Augie allowed two runs in the bottom of the inning but closed the game out via run rule with a final of 18-4.
Wintroub tossed six complete innings on the mound, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out seven batters. Anthony Sus closed the game in the seventh, recording strikeouts on all three of his outs.
Augie finished the game with 13 hits, led by Kanellakis' three-hit effort. Seven players drove in runs in the win, with Kannellakis also leading that category with five.
Augustana improves to 5-2 and will play the UW-Platteville Pioneers on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. for their final game in Kansas.
