SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Augustana) — Augustana baseball bested the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles to earn the series sweep on Saturday at Ronken Field. The Vikings improve to 25-13 overall and 14-4 in the NSIC. Minnesota Crookston drops to 20-14 overall and 10-6 in the loop.

The Golden Eagles were the first team to score in the first inning, getting one run on the board from a single to left field.

From there, it was all Augustana. In the bottom of the first frame, the Vikings evened the score when Jack Hines tripled to right center, scoring Trevor Winterstein. 

Augustana gained a two-run lead in the second when Joshua Koskie hit a deep ball over the fence down the right field line, bringing Parker Mooney home. Mooney reached base earlier in the inning with a single to right field.

In the fifth inning, Augustana doubled its score and pushed the lead to 6-1. Winterstein plated Mooney with a single to the UMC pitcher. A single up the middle from Hines sent Koskie and Winterstein home to add two more runs to AU’s total. 

The Vikings scored another run in the sixth frame when Koskie was walked with the bases loaded, scoring Drey Dirksen. 

Augustana totaled three runs in the seventh frame, taking a 10-1 lead over the Golden Eagles. Dirksen knocked down a two-run homer, bringing home Hines. Ballweg scored another run on Mooney’s ground out to the UMC shortstop. 

At the plate, Hines recorded a double and a triple in the win while Dirksen and Koskie each hit home runs. Seven Vikings recorded at least one hit and six scored runs.

Ashton Michek was the starting pitcher for the Vikings in the series finale. Michek tossed 4.1 innings, striking out four batters. Caleb Kranz entered the game in the fifth inning and spent 1.2 innings on the mound, recording one strikeout. Ryan Jares, Tom Sun and Adam Diedrich also spent time on the hill in the win, totaling a combined three strikeouts.

Up Next
Augustana will host the UMary Marauders on Wednesday at Ronken Field for an afternoon doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. 

The games were originally set to take place at UMary in Bismarck, North Dakota, but the weather caused the games to be switched to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.