By: By Kelly Shipp

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Augustana University baseball team (36-15) used great hitting performances from Tyler Field and Lucas Wilber to defeat Northern State (21-23) by a score of 8-4 in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Baseball Tournament.

 

Augustana got a great performance on the mound today from Ryan Hamilton who struck out five Northern State hitters and gave up just two walks. Hamilton was locked in from the get go and went seven solid innings in the first round win for the Vikings.

 

After a scoreless first inning the Vikings scored three runs in the second inning. Alex Beals got things started in the inning when he earned a leadoff single. After TJ Davis walked, the bases were quickly cleared by Tyler Field who sent a shot to the center field gap to give the Vikings a 2-0 advantage earlier. After Field stole third the Vikings were aided by an Northern State error that allowed Justin Warne to reach base and drive in Field.

 

In the bottom of the third inning Field continued his impressive day at the plate driving in his third run of the game on a single that scored Lucas Barry who doubled earlier in the inning.

 

Northern State cut into Augustana's lead in the fourth inning when a leadoff walk and an error allowed the Wolves to get two runners into scoring position. After a few singles and a fielder's choice the Wolves cut the Vikings lead to 4-3.  

 

Augustana didn't allow those three Northern State runs to phase them as they added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth with two outs. Fink started the late inning rally when he singled to second base before stealing second and putting himself into scoring position. After Fiala walked, a single from Beals drove in Fink to make the score 5-3 Vikings.

 

In the fifth inning the Vikings again added to their lead. Davis led off the inning with a double and reached third on a groundout from Field. Just one batter later Lucas Wilber connected on a pitch and sent a 2-run home run over the left center field fence to give the Vikings a 7-3 advantage.

 

The Vikings picked up an insurance run in the seventh inning on a sac fly from Wilber that gave the Vikings an 8-3 lead. The Wolves scored one run in the eighth on home run but it wasn't as Augustana defeated Northern State 8-4 in round one of the NSIC Baseball Tournament.

 

Pitchers of Record

Win - Ryan Hamilton (8-2): 7 IP, 3 runs, 1 earned run, 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts

Loss - Nick Hoffard (7-3): 6 IP, 8 runs, 7 earned runs, 12 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout

 

Viking Notables

• Augustana won their opening round game of the NSIC Tournament for the third consecutive season

• Fink hit his 30th double of the season in the first inning

• Augustana out hit Northern State 13-5

• The Vikings left eight runners on base

• Both Wilber and Field had three RBIs

• Davis doubled twice

• Fink, Barry and Davis all doubled

• Wilber earned a Sac fly

• Fink and Field both stole a base

 

Up Next

Augustana will be back in action tomorrow morning as they take on No. 3 seed St. Cloud State at 10 a.m. in the second round of the NSIC Baseball Tournament. The Vikings and Huskies will play on Faber Field.