Baseball 4/26/01 -- St. Olaf 9-14, Augsburg 4-4 

Boxscore Game 1 
Boxscore Game 2

MINNEAPOLIS (4/26/01) -- Steve Ryan (Jr., South St. Paul, Minn.) hit a two-run home run to cap an eight-run, four-inning comeback by St. Olaf College in the first game, and Charlie Ruud (Fr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) pitched a nine-strikeout, complete-game victory in the second contest, as St. Olaf College swept a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader from host Augsburg College Thursday afternoon at Parade Stadium.

St. Olaf won the first game 9-4 and the second 14-1 to improve to 19-7 overall and 12-2 in the MIAC. The Oles are ranked fourth in the most recent Division III Midwest Region rankings and rated 30th in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball magazine Division III national poll. The Auggies dropped to 16-18 overall and 2-10 in MIAC play with the losses.

Leadoff hitter Brian Sprout (Jr., Lake City, Minn.) had a strong afternoon for the Oles with four doubles on the afternoon. He went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI in the first game, then went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI in the second contest.

Sprout opened the first game with his first double, and was driven in as Casey Coulson (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.) doubled to follow. But the Auggies rallied back in the second inning, as Adam Dittrich (Sr., New Ulm, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran HS) tripled to drive in a run, and was brought home on a single by Sammy Gross (So., Springfield, Minn.). It was the only lead the Auggies would hold the entire afternoon.

The Oles scored eight runs over the final four innings to build the final margin in the first game, keyed by a run-scoring double by Sprout, groundout by Coulson and a run-scoring double by Dan LaManna (Jr., South St. Paul, Minn.) in the fourth, two more runs in the fifth and a run-scoring single by LaManna in the sixth. Ryan's two-run homer, his third of the season, capped the scoring for the Oles.

Augsburg notched single runs in the fifth and sixth, as Mike Schwalen (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Richfield HS) hit a sacrfice fly to drive in a run in the fifth and Gross drove in a run on a groundout in the sixth.

Erik Goodmanson (Jr., Albert Lea, Minn.) picked up the pitching win for the Oles, with Reid Rose (Jr., Orono, Minn.) providing two-plus innings of relief. Ryan Krautkremer (Jr., Waseca, Minn.) took the pitching loss for Augsburg, despite a complete-game, seven-strikeout effort.

The Oles pounded out 14 hits -- including 11 singles -- in the second game, though just eight of the 14 runs were earned off of four Auggie pitchers. A seven-run sixth inning, in which 10 Oles came to the plate, provided the wide margin in the eventual final score.

Joe Hammond (Jr., Neillsville, Wis.) drove in a run on a single in the second and Kevin Quame (Jr., Benson, Minn.) notched a two-run single in the third, followed by a run-scoring single by Lars Finanger (Jr., Decorah, Iowa.). A Brad Baglien (Fr., Mounds View, Minn.) single drove in a run in the fourth, and another run came in on a Sprout double down the right-field line in the fifth.

Baglien scored on an error to start the Ole onslaught in the sixth, followed by a two-run single by Hammond. Ryan's single scored another run, followed by a two-run double by Sprout. The final run came in on a sacrifice fly by Coulson.

Augsburg scored twice in both the fourth and fifth, as Rich Storholm (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./St. Louis Park HS) had a single-and two-base error to drive in a run, followed by a run-scoring groundout by Dave Sherry (Jr., Hastings, Minn.). A two-run single by Dittrich in the fifth completed the Auggie scoring.

Ruud struck out nine while not walking a batter to pick up the second-game win for the Oles. Just one of the four runs he allowed was earned. Nic Shelby (Sr., Hastings, Minn./Holy Angels HS), the Auggie starter, took the loss.

Augsburg returns to action on Saturday (4/28) at 1 p.m. with a MIAC doubleheader at Hamline (Midway Stadium, St. Paul, Minn.). St. Olaf hosts Luther (Iowa) in a nonconference doubleheader Sunday (4/29) at 1 p.m.