RANTOUL, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings baseball team split the second day of a three-game weekend in Rantoul on Sunday, defeating the Northland Lumberjacks 11-6 before falling to the Loras Duhawks by a score of 6-3.

In the first game against Northland, the Jacks got on the board first after a two-run homer to grab the early lead. The Vikings followed with two runs of their own after Ryan Coon singled and advanced on a passed ball before crossing home following a Kaileb Hackman singled up the middle. Daniel Mosele's RBI single during the next at-bat evened the score at 2-2 exiting the first inning.

In the second inning, Alec McGinnis got on base first with a single to left field before stealing second. A sacrifice fly moved McGinnis to third before an error by the Jacks brought him home to allow Augie to secure a 3-2 lead. Northland drew even in the top of the third, but Mosele reached base on an error and moved around the bases following a wild pitch, bunt, and error to regain the lead.

In the top of the fourth, Northland tied the game once again but the Vikings followed with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Biggins and Hackman scored off a wild pitch before Mosele and Carson Vitry ran home on a passed ball to make an 8-4 score. 

The Vikings moved the difference to five in the bottom of the fifth when Ryan Coon singled to right field and advanced after two singles and a sacrifice bunt to make it a 9-4 game. In the bottom of the seventh, Riley Hendren walked, stole second, and moved to third via error before stealing home to make a 10-4 score. 

Northland tallied a run in the eighth but the Vikings moved the difference back to six after Michael Aragon scored off a single to left from Coon. The Jacks scored another in the top of the ninth, but Augie held the five-point advantage to take the 11-6 game. 

As a team, Augie tallied 12 hits with Coon leading with four, while Hackman and Mosele batted two runs home apiece. Nathan Melby earned the win on the mound with 3.1 innings pitched and five strikeouts. 

Loras grabbed the early advantage in the second game after putting up three runs in the bottom of the first. The Duhawks tallied two more in the second inning to move the score to 5-0. After a pair of scoreless innings, Loras brought in another run home in the fifth to lead 6-0. 

In the top of the seventh, McGinnis and Coon singled to get on base before Hackman brought both home to make a 6-2 game. Biggins was walked and advanced after a single before scoring off of back-to-back errors to move the score to 6-3. Both teams remained scoreless for the remainder of the game.

As a team, Augie notched eight hits with Coon and Cole Green collecting two apiece, while Hackman batted two runs in. 

With the split record, Augie moves to 2-3 on the season and returns to action on Tuesday, March 4 for their home opener against Luther.