Box Score
Augustana continued to swing some hot bats as the Vikings defeated Arkansas Tech 9-5 in a single 9-inning game Monday in Russellville, Ark. The win allowed Augustana to take 2 of 3 games in the series.
The Vikings (2-1) collected 14 hits and scored in six of the nine innings. Augustana, which never trailed in the game, struck quickly in the first inning.
Tom Hill struck out but reached on a passed ball. After stealing second, he advanced to third on a single by
Drew Heithoff and then scored on a sacrifice fly by
Ian Strum.
After Arkansas Tech tied the score in the bottom of the second, Augustana scored 2 unearned runs in the third on an RBI single by
Charles Dubanoski and a run-scoring groundout by
Dan Morrison to make the score 3-1.
The Wonder Boys scored a run in the bottom of the third to make the score 3-2. The Vikings then manufactured single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth,
Nate Baumann scored on a fielder’s choice by Strum and in the fifth,
Nolan Miller’s sacrifice fly plated Dubanoski.
However, Arkansas Tech kept pace with Augustana with runs of their own in the fourth and fifth innings to leave the score 5-4 in favor of the Vikings.
Augustana pulled away with 2 runs in the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth, Strum roped a triple to score Heithoff. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Morrison. Then in the seventh, Dubanoski and Morrison lined 2-out RBI singles to increase the lead to 9-4.
From there the Vikings turned to the pitching of
Tim Duffy and
Bret Severtson to slam the door. The duo combined to allow just 3 hits over the final 4 innings. Duffy, who relieved starter
Kenny Lidke with 2 outs in the fifth inning, picked up the win after going 2.2 innings. He allowed 1 run on 2 hits. Severtson closed out the game by getting the final 5 outs of the game. He retired the first four hitters he faced before allowing a 2-out single in the ninth inning.
Offensively, Heithoff, Strum and Morrison all had 3 hits, while Dubanoski and
JaColby Anderson each had 2 hits. Strum also had 3 RBI and scored 2 runs, while Heithoff scored 3 runs. Morrison also had 3 RBI and Dubanoski drove in 2 runs.
Augustana continues its 6-game road trip on Tuesday with a doubleheader at Harding University. Game 1 begins at noon.