CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings baseball team dropped the championship matchup to the Millikin Big Blue on Sunday by a score of 9-8 to finish second in the CCIW tournament.

Millikin secured six runs in the first and second innings before Augie got on the board in the bottom of the third. Alex Simon kicked off the inning with a single to center field before Daniel Mosele was hit by a pitch and Grant Biggins walked to make the bases loaded. Colton Davis brought the first run home for the Vikings after a sacrifice fly to pull the team within five.

The Big Blue added two more in the top of the fifth, but Augie saw a huge bottom half to put themselves right back into the game. Cole Green was first up to bat in the inning and singled to left-center field, followed with a single to left field by Simon. Mosele brought himself and both runners home with a three-run homerun to make it an 8-4 game. Dymitiri Kanelllakis and Charlie Bergin kept the hitting streak going with a single and Alec McGinnis batted Kanellakis home after an RBI hit of his own. With runners on first and second, Heath Perry collected his first collegiate home run to bring three more home and even the score at 8-8. 

Millikin tallied another in the seventh to move ahead by one and eventually hold on for the 9-8 victory. The Vikings posted one more scoring threat in the bottom half of the ninth, loading the bases against the reigning CCIW Pitcher of the Year, but were unable to cash in the equalizing tally. 

Simon, Bergin, McGinnis, and Green collected two hits apiece, while Mosele and Perry batted three runs in. 

With the loss, Augie concludes the season with an overall record of 27-17.