Baseball locks in series sweep
The Augustana baseball team completed a weekend series sweep against Drury University on March 2-3 in Springfield, Missouri. Starting the series with a record of 3-2, the Vikings advanced to an overall record of 6-2.
The Vikings claimed two victories on March 2, a 6-4 victory in game one and a shutout victory 5-0 in game two.
On March 3, the Vikings battled to secure a comeback victory of 16-8 in game three.
Drury opened game three by scoring four runs in the first inning. The Vikings fought back in the third inning, scoring a run off by senior outfielder Jason Axelberg’s solo home run. Drury answered right back with two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-1 lead.
The Vikings continued to battle back, scoring six runs in the fourth inning, led by fifth-year catcher Drey Dirksen’s fourth home run of the year.
“Not everything was perfect, but we ended up finding ways to win, even when we weren’t playing well at times,” senior pitcher Adam Diedrich said.
Drury responded in the bottom half of the fourth inning, scoring one run and tying the game at 7-7. The score stayed tied through the fifth inning, but in the sixth, the Vikings poured it on, scoring five runs and taking a 12-7 lead.
“Our hitters kind of woke up and then next thing you know, we end up winning big and that is what it is supposed to look like with a veteran team,” head coach Tim Huber said.
The Vikings added a run in the seventh and three more in the eighth to go ahead 16-7. Drury found a run in the ninth inning but was unable to mount a late rally.
“The first few innings were rough but to see our hitters and pitchers pick each other up and come out of that game with a dub was a major confidence boost,” Dirksen said.
In game two, the Vikings got on the board early, scoring two runs to open the game. Augustana continued the pressure, scoring another two runs in the fourth inning to push the lead to 4-0.
Sophomore pitcher Ashton Michek dominated on the mound, allowing no runs and just two hits in six innings of work.
The Vikings added another run in the seventh inning to make the score 5-0. Drury never had an answer, failing to put a run on the board in the Viking’s 5-0 shutout victory.
“It was good to see our pitchers dominate and our hitters hit. It’s always a good weekend when we can get our younger guys into the game,” Dirksen said.
In the first game of the weekend series, the Vikings started the scoring with a two-run second inning to take a 2-0 lead. Drury then went on a four-run streak to take a 4-2 lead.
The Vikings scored a run in the sixth inning to create a one-score game at 4-3. In the top of the eighth, the Vikings took back the lead 5-4 with a pair of runs.
Senior infielder Jack Hines delivered some insurance in the ninth with a solo home run to put the Vikings up 6-4.
Diedrich closed out the game, earning his first save of the season and facing three hitters, forcing the game-ending double play.
“Jack Hines made a great play turning a double play to end the game, which makes it really easy to be in that situation late in the game,” Diedrich said.
Augustana opens its NSIC conference play at home on March 8 at 3 p.m against Bemidji State University.
“The ceiling for this team is getting back to the world series and just playing well,” Huber said.
