MOLINE, Ill. – The Augustana Vikings baseball team took care of business Monday night at Swanson Stadium, erupting offensively in an 18–2 victory over the Knox Prairie Fire. Augustana plated runs in four different innings and used a massive second frame to take complete control of the contest.
Augustana wasted no time getting on the board in the opening inning. Riley Hendren reached to begin the rally before Carson Vitry and Christian Clark followed to keep the inning moving. AJ Macak drove in Hendren with an RBI single through the left side, and Kaileb Hackman added a sacrifice fly to bring home Vitry. Later in the inning, Clark came around to score on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, giving the Vikings a 3–0 lead.
The Vikings blew the game wide open in the second inning, sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring nine runs. Clark started the scoring in the frame, coming home after reaching earlier in the inning. Vitry followed, scoring on a bases-loaded walk. Macak then crossed the plate as the lineup continued to turn over. Hendren delivered the biggest swing of the inning with a three-run home run, bringing home both Ryan Coon and Vitry. Later in the inning, Hackman came around to score, followed by another run from Bergin after reaching earlier in the frame. The relentless rally pushed the Vikings' lead to 12–1.
After a quiet third, Augustana added on again in the fourth inning. Braiden Elliott opened the frame with a double down the left-field line before August Besemer moved him to third. Vitry was hit by a pitch and Clark worked a walk to load the bases. Hendren was then hit by a pitch to bring home Elliott, and Coon followed in the same fashion, taking a pitch to force in Vitry. Zach Quimby capped the inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk, allowing Clark to score and extending the Vikings' lead to 15–2.
Augustana kept its foot on the gas in the fifth inning. AJ Macak reached with a single and moved into scoring position before Elliott was hit by a pitch and Vitry drew a walk to load the bases once again. Ethan Sosnowski delivered a two-run double to center field, bringing home both Elliott and Macak, and Hendren followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Vitry, pushing the advantage to 18–2.
On the mound, Ethan McGraw got the start and turned in a strong performance, working two innings while allowing one run and fanning five. The bullpen combo of Jack Robertson, Sebastian Reyes, Wyatt Nelson, Hayden Hutchcraft and Zach Bachochin surrendered just one run in the next four frames, and Dylan Dombrowicki closed out the final inning to secure the victory.
At the plate, Hendren led the charge with a home run and six RBI. Macak added a multi-hit performance with multiple RBI. Clark, Vitry, and Coon each contributed to the offensive surge as the Vikings totaled 12 hits, seven walks and six hit-by-pitches.
With the win, Augustana improves to 15–6 on the season. The Vikings return to action Friday, April 3, when they travel to Elmhurst for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
