MOLINE, Ill. – The Augustana baseball team returned home for a conference battle against Elmhurst on Tuesday, edging out the Bluejays by a 7-6 final.
Elmhurst plated a run in the top of the first while forcing a three-up, three-down Augustana at-bat in the bottom side of the frame. Starter Brian Fischer replied with a 1-2-3 inning of his own, prompting the Vikings offense to tie the game at 1-1 with an Alec McGinnis RBI single in the bottom of the second. Augie added three in the third to seize a 4-1 lead, jump-started by Matt Ozanic securing the opening run on an Elmhurst error. Dymitri Kanellakis launched a two-run home run in the ensuing at-bat to build the three-run cushion.
Scoreless fourth and fifth innings followed before the Bluejays rallied to knot the contest at 4-4 in the top of the sixth. The Vikings swiftly broke the deadlock with two runs in the bottom of the frame, starting with a Michael Aragon double before Zachary Vrbancic brought him in with a sacrifice bunt aided by an Elmhurst error at first base. Cole Green batted in Vrbancic with a liner through the right side of the infield to push the Augie advantage to 6-4. The Bluejays surged back with two scores in the seventh to tie the game for a third time.
Augustana loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but could not score as the game remained even entering the eighth inning. Addison Southwick faced only three batters in the top of the frame, pushing the Vikings' offense to their final offensive effort in the bottom of the eighth. Green led off with a single through the right side, advancing to third with two outs following a sac bunt and groundout. Augustana nabbed the game-winning run after an error off the bat of Kyle Campbell brought in Green. Southwick earned the win on the mound, throwing just three in pitches in the top of the ninth to secure the team their eighth conference victory and a regular-season sweep of Elmhurst.
The Vikings secured six hits as a team. Kanellakis led the way with two runs batted in, while Green and McGinnis each had one.
Augustana improves to 23-6 overall and 8-2 in the CCIW. The Vikings will remain home for a series against Millikin from April 22-23. Senior Day will take place on Sunday for the final game versus the Big Blue. Start time of game one Saturday is scheduled for 12 p.m.
