ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Augustana Vikings baseball team saw its bid for a three-game sweep come up short on Monday night, falling to the North Central Cardinals, 15–7, at Swanson Stadium.

Attacking early, the visitors plated three runs in the opening inning behind a pair of RBI singles and a bases-loaded walk to take a quick 3–0 lead. The Cardinals added to their lead in the second, scoring four to push the lead to seven.

Augustana answered in the bottom half of the second. Charlie Bergin reached and moved into scoring position before Ryan Theile drove him in with an RBI single through the left side. Later in the inning, AJ Macak came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Christian Clark, cutting the deficit to 7–2.

North Central added two more runs in the fourth inning and five more in the fifth before Augustana struck again. Riley Hendren jumpstarted the fifth-inning rally with a double, and Ryan Coon followed with a base hit to put two aboard. Kaileb Hackman then brought the Vikings back into the game with a three-run home run to left, cutting the deficit to 14–5.

Augustana didn't stop there, as Bergin worked a walk and eventually scored on Theile's second RBI single of the game. Lawson Shickel followed with an RBI double to left center, bringing home Theile and closing the gap to 14–7. That would be as close as Augustana would get, as North Central added a run in the seventh and held the Vikings scoreless over the final four frames.

Theile led the Vikings offensively with two hits and two RBI, while Hackman drove in three runs on his home run. Shickel added a three-hit performance with an RBI, and Bergin scored twice in the effort.

With the loss, Augustana slips to 20–8 overall and 6–3 in CCIW play. It's a quick turnaround for the Vikings as they head to Decatur to close out the two-game series against Millikin on Wednesday, April 15. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.