CHICAGO, Ill. — The Augustana baseball team completed a two-game sweep of North Park on Friday, securing game one in 10 innings by a 2-0 score before a 6-5 triumph in game two.
Game One (W 2-0, 10 inn.)
Josh Wintroub received the start in game one for Augie, opening with three strikeouts in the first inning. The game remained scoreless through the second, with Wintroub striking out two more batters in a three-up, three-down inning. After five more blank innings, the Vikings got their first hits of the game in the seventh, with Kyle Campbell hitting a single through the left side and Matt Ozanic following with a base hit of his own. North Park got out of the jam and both teams remained scoreless through nine innings of action.
In the 10th, Brett Benedetti reached base on a single before a Cole Green single put two runners on for Augustana. Alex Simon followed with a game-clinching single down the left-field line, scoring both Green and Benedetti. With two men on base, reliever Jacob Reusch struck out the final North Park batter in the bottom half to give Augie a 2-0 victory in game one.
Wintroub tossed eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 batters and allowing just one hit. Six different Vikings recorded hits, with Simon securing the lone RBI.
Game Two (W 6-5)
In the second game of the doubleheader, neither team scored across the first three innings, with Jacob Irwin opening for Augie and Sam Jackson on the mound for North Park. The Vikings broke the drought in the fourth inning, scoring all six of their runs. After a wild pitch brought in the game's first tally, Dymitri Kanellakis belted an RBI single through the right side of the infield to push the score to 2-0. On the very next at-bat, Chase Maifield delivered a run-producing single, followed by an RBI from Michael Aragon. Zachary Vrbancic was responsible for the team's fifth run, sending a base hit to left field before Campbell capped off the scoring outburst with a bases loaded walk.
North Park added their first run of the game before scoreless seventh and eighth innings brought the 6-1 score into the final inning. The home team quickly loaded the bases in their final at-bat opportunity, pushing across five runs before Augie recorded two outs. Reusch entered with one out to get, forcing a groundout to short to end the game.
Irwin earned his second win of the season after tossing five innings with one run allowed. Reusch came in to handle the final North Park batter in the ninth inning, earning the save. The Vikings registered nine hits, with Kanellakis and Maifield leading the way with three each.
The Vikings improve to 18-5 overall and 3-1 in conference with the two wins. The team will travel to Naperville, Ill. on Saturday for a rematch against the No. 23 North Central Cardinals. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Zimmerman Stadium.
