CAROL STREAM, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings baseball team secured two wins over the Wheaton Thunder on Saturday by scores of 14-10 and 11-8.
In game one, Augie won by a score of 14-10. Wheaton got on the board first in the bottom of the first to take an early 4-0 lead. In the second inning, Alec McGinnis hit an RBI double to get Augie on the board, but the Thunder followed with two more to make a 6-1 score. Alex Simon kicked off the third inning with a solo home run before Wheaton collected two more.
In the fifth inning, Daniel Mosele brought two runs in after a single to left-center field and the Vikings collected five more in the sixth inning. Dymitiri Kanellakis started the scoring streak in the top of the sixth with an RBI single and Simon scored off of a fielding error by the Thunder. McGinnis brought in another after being hit by a pitch before Charlie Bergin was walked to even the score at 8-8. Cole Green then got hit by a pitch to put the Vikings ahead, but Wheaton evened the score again at 9 in the bottom of the inning.
Grant Biggins brought a run in after a ground out to allow Augie to regain the lead in the seventh inning and a sacrifice fly from McGinnis increased the gap to two. Bergin tripled down the right field line to bring home two to stretch the difference to four with a score of 13-9. In the eighth inning, Augie tallied another after a single from Mosele. Wheaton collected another run in the ninth but the Vikings took the first game 14-10.
Mosele led Augie with three hits, while Mosele, McGinnis, and Bergin brought in three runs apiece. Cameron Miller earned the win on the mound with 3.1 innings pitched.
The Vikings conquered game two by a score of 11-8. A sacrifice fly from Simon allowed Augie to score first in the top of the second inning to take the early lead until Wheaton evened the score in the following inning. The Thunder took the 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the fourth, but Kanellakis homered for both teams to draw once again.
In the sixth inning, Augie tallied six more runs starting with an RBI double from Colton Davis to take the lead. Bergin brought in another run after a single through the left side and McGinnis scored off of a fielder's choice. Kanellakis followed with a single to right field to bring in the fourth run of the inning before the Thunder walked Ethan Sosnowski to allow another to cross home plate. Mosele brought in the final run of the inning after being walked to make it an 8-2 game.
In the following inning, Simon singled through the right side to put another run up on the board before Biggins brought two home after a single to left field. Wheaton collected one in the bottom of the seventh to create an 11-3 score. The Thunder secured the final four runs of the game, but the Vikings held on for the 11-8 victory.
Kanellakis, Sosnowski, Davis, and Bergin collected two hits apiece, while Simon batted three runs in. Adam Bendoraitis earned the win on the mound with six innings pitched and two strikeouts.
With the two wins, Augie improves to 20-15 on the season and 7-10 in conference play. The Vikings will be back home tomorrow for a non-conference game against Rockford set to begin at 3 p.m.
