Baseball 3/5/01 -- Augsburg 2-2, St. Scholastica 1-0 

Boxscore Game 1
Boxscore Game 2

MINNEAPOLIS (3/5/01) ­ Nic Shelby (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Holy Angels HS) and Matt Topp (Jr., South St. Paul, Minn.) each pitched complete-game victories for Augsburg College, as the Auggies swept the College of St. Scholastica, ranked No. 22 in the NAIA national polls, in a nonconference baseball doubleheader Monday night at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Augsburg swept the games by scores of 2-1 and 2-0 to improve to 5-1 overall, winning its last five games in a row. St. Scholastica, champions of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference for the past four seasons and winners of the NAIA Region 3 title last season, dropped to 1-3 to start the year.

Shelby struck out nine Saints while walking just one to pick up his first victory of the season in the first game. The Saints' lone run of the game, scored in the sixth inning, was unearned. Topp claimed his first collegiate shutout in the second-game victory, striking out seven while walking two.

Augsburg did its damage in the first game in the fourth inning, when Ryan Krautkremer (Jr., Waseca, Minn.) drove in Rich Storholm (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./St. Louis Park HS) on a triple, and later scored on a groundout by Dave Sherry (Jr., Hastings, Minn.).

The Saints took advantage of an error, wild pitch and passed ball to score their lone run of the game, coming from Gabe Fransen (Jr., Two Harbors, Minn.) in the sixth inning.

The Saints stranded six runners in the first game and seven in the second contest.

Augsburg used another two-run fourth inning to gain all the runs it would need in the second game. Sherry doubled and scored on a single by Pat Marsh (Jr., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS), and Marsh scored on a passed ball.

Marsh ended up with three hits in five at-bats in the doubleheader, including a double in the second game to go 2-for-3. Sherry, Krautkremer and Storholm had two hits apiece in the doubleheader, Krautkremer going 2-for-3 with a triple in the first game.

St. Scholastica was led by Greg Young (Jr., Hibbing, Minn.), who had two hits and three stolen bases in the doubleheader. He had a triple in the first game. Nick Bjerken (So., South St. Paul, Minn.) went 2-for-3 with a double in the second game, and Billy Patton (Fr., Hermantown, Minn.) went 2-for-3 with a double in the first game. Kevin Ritsche (Fr., Superior, Wis.) had a double in the second contest.

Corey Kemp (Sr., Cherry, Minn.) struck out seven Auggies while walking just one in a losing effort in the first game.

Brett Nyquist (So., Duluth, Minn.), who claimed a no-hitter in a win over defending Division III national runner-up St. Thomas on Saturday, struck out nine and walked one, but was still charged with the loss. Only one of the two runs he gave up was earned.

Augsburg returns to action with a doubleheader against Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Thursday (3/8) at 12:30 p.m. at the Metrodome. St. Scholastica faces Dubuque (Iowa) on Tuesday (3/5) at 8 a.m. at the Metrodome.