Game 1 - Wayne State 5 Augustana 4Game 2 - Augustana 11 Wayne State 8 Junior reliever
Curtis Bussard became Wayne State's all-time saves leader Friday evening, helping the Wildcats split a Northern Sun Conference baseball doubleheader vs. Augustana College at Karras Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Wildcats held on for a 5-4 win in the opener but Augustana rallied in the second game from a 6-0 deficit to win an 11-8 slugfest. WSC is now 16-19 and 11-11 in the NSIC while Augustana is 22-13 and 13-7 in league play.
The first game saw the Wildcats build a 5-0 lead, then hold off a late Augustana rally, to hang on for the 5-4 win.
WSC opened the scoring in the second inning when
Albert Johnson hit a ground rule double and scored on a
Kevin Andersen ground out for a 1-0 Wildcat lead.
The 'Cats pushed the lead to 4-0 in the third when
Curtis Bussard and
Quinn McGill singled and scored on a two-out
Michael Herman three-run homer over the left field wall.
WSC made the score 5-0 in the fifth when Nate Ackerman doubled and crossed the plate on a Herman RBI double.
Augustana scored twice in the fifth and sixth innings to make the score 5-4 and threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, but reliever
Curtis Bussard got Patrick Fiala to groundout to first with runners on second and third to seal the 5-4 win making the Bussard the all-time saves leader at WSC with his 11
th and second this season.
The Vikings had one more hit than WSC in the contest, 9-8. Herman paced WSC going 2 for 3 with a homer, double and four RBI's. Ackerman and
Albert Johnson each doubled while Bussard, McGill,
John Roberts and
Kevin Andersen each recorded singles in the win.
Junior right hander
Eric Browning earned the pitching win, improving to 3-4 on the season. He was charged with four runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. Bussard came on in the seventh inning to notch the save, becoming the all-time saves leader at WSC with 11. He broke the previous school record of 10 shared by Adam McGuire (2004-07) and Dustin Nilius (2001-05).
The second game saw the Wildcats build a 6-0 lead early, but the host Vikings stormed back to win a slugfest by the score of 11-8.
A Nate Ackerman two-run homer in the first put WSC ahead 2-0. The 'Cats added another run in the second inning when
Alex Kreft walked and scored on a
Quinn McGill sacrifice fly for a 3-0 WSC advantage.
WSC took a 6-0 lead in the third when
Aaron Krier produced an RBI single followed by a two-run double from Kreft.
But Augustana stormed back with four-run innings in the third and fourth to take the lead for good at 8-6.
WSC got within one at 8-7 in the fifth thanks to a
Quinn McGill double that scored Kreft. But the Vikings pushed the lead to 11-7 with two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth.
The Wildcats used an Augustana error and three straight hit batters to score a run in the seventh to make the score 11-8. WSC did get the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning, but the rally fell short as WSC dropped an 11-8 decision to the Vikings.
Augustana had 17 hits in the game to 14 by the Wildcats. Junior catcher
Alex Kreft was 3 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored while senior designated hitter
John Roberts extended his season-high hitting streak to 13 games by going 3 for 5 with three singles. Ackerman finished 2 for 4 with three RBI's, including his 14
th home run of the season.
Albert Johnson also had two hits for the Wildcats.
Senior reliever
Ryan Zweck, one of five Wayne State pitchers, suffered the pitching loss in falling to 0-2 on the season. He was charged with two runs on four hits in one inning of relief.
Wayne State and Augustana were scheduled to conclude their four-game NSIC series on Saturday at noon, but due to predicted rain and thunderstorms in the Sioux Falls area for Saturday, the doubleheader will now be played on Sunday starting at 12 p.m.
