MOLINE, Ill. — The Augustana Vikings baseball team will play a conference doubleheader against Carthage on Friday, April 14, before heading to Kenosha, Wis. on Saturday, April 15 to finish their regular season series against the Firebirds.

The Vikings hold a 19-6 record, 4-2 in conference, and are coming off a home win over the Wheaton Thunder on Wednesday by a score of 11-1 after seven innings. The Thunder led 1-0 after the top of the first inning, but Augie quickly answered with three runs in the bottom half of the frame. Matt Ozanic nabbed two RBI on a double to right field before Dymitri Kanellakis launched an RBI double to left-center. The Vikings tacked on a lone run in the second to go ahead 4-1 before adding three more runs in the fifth inning. Following a Chase Maifield RBI single to right, Michael Aragon and Zachary Vrbancic batted in runs to move the score to 7-1. Augustana plated their final four runs in the seventh to cruise to the conference victory by run rule. 

Starter Brian Fischer earned his first win of the season after tossing five innings and striking out three batters. Augie totaled seven hits from five players, with Ozanic and Kanellakis leading the way with two apiece. Ozanic also added a game-high three runs batted in. 

Carthage possesses a 7-15 record, 2-6 in conference, with their most recent action resulting in a 7-4 road defeat to the Carroll Pioneers on Wednesday. Carroll nabbed a 5-0 lead in the second inning before Carthage added a lone run in the third to trim the deficit to four. The Firebirds kept their momentum, adding three runs in the fifth, beginning with an RBI single from Kody Krekling before a two-run home run from Collin Callahan cut the lead to two. The Pioneers staved off the comeback attempt, adding a lone run in the seventh to grab the 7-4 conference victory. 

Augustana is on a five-game win streak against the Firebirds, though Carthage holds an 89-67 edge in the all-time series. The most recent meeting between the two programs resulted in a 13-0 road victory for the Vikings on May 6, 2022. Augie nabbed a run in the first inning before exploding for seven runs in the second to build an 8-0 advantage. The Vikings scored five more runs, two in the seventh and one apiece in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, to win 13-0 by run rule. Harrison Boushele earned the win after pitching six innings while striking out ten Firebirds and allowing just two hits. 

The first game of Friday's doubleheader kicks off at 3:00 p.m. from Swanson Stadium, with game two following shortly after. Stream link for can be found here. Saturday's matchup in Wisconsin begins at 12:00 p.m. from Augie Schmidt Field. Stream link for the road showdown can be found here.