Box Score
A walk off home run by
Nate Baumann completed a 6-4 comeback for the Vikings baseball team against Wayne State of Michigan. The Vikings trailed by as many as four runs before battling back for the win.
The victory improves the Vikings to 5-5 on the season.
Neither team scored until the fourth inning, when Wayne State was able to gain a lead on the Vikings thanks to a string of singles. Michael Wiseman led off with a single to center field, then advanced to second on a ground out by the next batter. A single by Brad Guenther advanced Wiseman to third before Wiseman scored on a single by Paul LaMantia. Josh Schafer singled, and then another single by Cameron Walker scored LaMantia. A Kyle Vesey single to left field scored Schafer and Walker. This put the Warriors up 4-0.
Ezra Campbell came in to pitch for
Grant Larson, and strong defense by the Vikings kept the Warriors from increasing their lead in the fifth. Augie scored one run of their own, starting with a single by
Dan Morrison. He advanced to second when
Gates Cook reached on an error by the third baseman, before moving to third as
Nate Hewes reached on a fielder's choice. A single by Zach Cimburek scored Morrison, making the score 4-1.
The Warriors put one runner on in the sixth, but left him stranded and the Vikings continued to chip away at the Wayne State lead.
Drew Heithoff was walked and then stole second base. The next two Augie batters were outs before Morrison was walked. Heithoff scored on a single to center field by Cook.
The Vikings kept the momentum going in the seventh, when Cimburek doubled to left field and Hewes was walked. Both runners moved up a base thanks to a wild pitch and then both scored on a single by
Deryk Marks. Augie had then closed the gap, tying the score at 4-4.
A scoreless eight by both teams brought the game into the ninth inning still tied.
Bennett Johnson came in to pitch for the Vikings in the ninth, but was replaced by
Bret Severtson after hitting a batter who then advanced on a sacrifice bunt. The runner advanced on a wild pitch, but Severtson closed out the inning with a ground out and a strikeout.
Hewes led off the ninth with a single, before Baumann's walk-off homer ended the game.
Cimburek was 2 for 4 in the game with one RBI. Marks and Baumann each recorded two RBIs and Cook added an RBI as well.
Severtson recorded the win for the Vikings and Campbell allowed no earned runs and three hits in four innings pitched. He also had three strikeouts.
The Vikings will take the field again tomorrow, playing Wayne State at 10 a.m. and Drury University at 4 p.m.
