Baseball 3/9/01 -- Wartburg (Iowa) 2-9, Augsburg 0-7 

Boxscore Game 1 
Boxscore Game 2 

MINNEAPOLIS (3/9/01) -- Luke Fortenberry (Sr., Belle Chasse, La.) pitched a complete-game shutout in the first contest and B.J. Meaney (So., Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus HS) went 3-for-4 in the second game with two doubles and two RBI, as Wartburg College held off a pesky Augsburg College in a sweep of a nonconference baseball doubleheader Friday morning at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Wartburg, ranked eighth in the NCAA Division III baseball national polls and an NCAA Division III World Series participant last season, won Friday's games 2-0 and 9-7 to improve to 12-1-1 on the season. Augsburg drops to 6-4 on the year, though their six wins in the first 10 games at the Metrodome already matches last season's win total (6-29).

Wartburg scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to claim the first-game victory over the Auggies. Kevin Huston (So., Independence, Iowa) tripled and scored on a groundout by Jude Burger (Jr., Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert HS) in the third inning, and Matt Thede (Sr., Reinbeck, Iowa/Gladbrook-Reinbeck HS) singled, moved to third on a balk and stolen base, and scored on a groundout by Caleb Klein (Fr., Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware HS).

Fortenberry struck out six Auggies while allowing one walk and five hits to improve to 3-0 on the season. Ryan Krautkremer (Jr., Waseca, Minn.) pitched well for the Auggies, striking out two while walking just one and allowing six hits. He also picked two Knights off of first base.

Thede had two hits in three at-bats to lead the Knights in the first game, while the Auggies were paced by Mike Schwalen's (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Richfield HS) 2-for-3 performance at the plate.

A five-run first inning gave the Knights a comfortable cushion early in the second game, but Augsburg responded with a four-run third frame.

Thede doubled to drive in a run, while Meaney had a two-RBI single and Jay Whannel (Jr., Traer, Iowa/North Tama HS) had a two-RBI double in the first.

Augsburg rallied back in the third, behind a two-run double by Adam Dittrich (Sr., New Ulm, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran HS) and a two-run single by Krautkremer.

Wartburg forged ahead again with four runs in the next three innings, including a steal of home by Jay Bollman (Sr., Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock HS) in the fifth.

But Augsburg continued to claw back with a run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh, coming on a two-run, inside-the-park home run by Schwalen. But the Auggies could get no closer than the final 9-7 deficit.

Scott Bantz (Sr., Independence, Iowa) had a 3-ror-4 performance at the plate for the Knights, while Bollman went 3-for- with two runs scored. Dittrich went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI to lead the Auggies.

Wartburg returns to action with games at the Rose-Hulman Classic March 16-18 in Terre Haute, Ind., while Augsburg takes a week off before playing in 10 games in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic March 18-23 in Fort Myers, Fla.