Baseball 4/14/02 -- St. Thomas 11-4, Augsburg 2-0

GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE


ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/14/02) -- Bryan Edstrom (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout to give the University of St. Thomas the second-game victory, while Eric Johnson (Fr., Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) and John Bean (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Breck HS) had two hits and drove in three runs each in the first game, leading the Tommies to a sweep of host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Sunday at Midway Stadium.

In gaining an 11-2 win in the first game and a 4-0 triumph in the second, St. Thomas improves to 16-4 overall and 6-0 in the MIAC. St. Thomas, the defending NCAA Division III national champions, is ranked second in the country in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association Division III national poll. Augsburg drops to 7-19 overall and 1-7 in the MIAC, having dropped its last seven games in a row, all in league play.

Edstrom, who threw 95 pitches in the second game, improved to 3-0 on the season and 22-1 in his Tommie career with the win. He struck out eight Auggies while allowing only two walks. Ryan Krautkremer (Sr., Waseca, Minn.) had the lone Auggie hit, a first-inning single. Edstrom then shut down the Auggies, 13 in a row over four-plus innings. Augsburg had one walk in the sixth and one in the seventh and just four baserunners in the entire game.

Kyle Olson (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) went 3-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Tommies in the second game, driving in a run on a double in the third inning and a run on a single in the seventh. Tom Carroll (Jr., Sioux City, Iowa/Heelan HS) drove in a run on a single in the fifth, and Matt Buzzell (Jr., Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) drove in a run on a single in the seventh. Josh Howard (Fr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) went 2-for-2, scoring twice.

Augsburg starter Jared Lynch (Sr., Jordan, Minn.) took the loss, though he pitched well, striking out one and allowing just five hits in 4.1 innings of work. Three Auggies followed in relief.

Five runs in the first three innings gave the Tommies a big lead in the first game, and a six-run effort in the fifth inning clinched the victory.

Three runs came across on fielder's choices in the first inning for the Tommies, and two more came in the third on a double from Bean and a single from Johnson.

Augsburg cut into the lead in the bottom of the third, when Travis Akre (Jr., Winona, Minn.) walked and scored on a single from Frank Huebner (Sr., Northfield, Minn.), and Sammy Gross (Jr., Springfield, Minn.) singled and scored on a single from Collin Nash (So., Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS).

But St. Thomas sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs on seven hits in the fifth inning to claim an insurmountable lead. Bean and Johnson drove in runs on a single, Brett Olson plated a run on a sacrifice fly, and Eric Maursetter (Fr., Willmar, Minn.) hit a double to drive in two runs, and Buzzell singled to bring the final run across the plate.

Buzzell, Carroll, Bean and Johnson had two hits each, with Olson scoring three runs and Bean scoring twice. Nash went 2-for-3 to lead Augsburg.

Sean Lindstrom (So., Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS) picked up the pitching win for St. Thomas, striking out two while allowing six hits in five innings of work. Brian Krause (Fr., Appleton, Wis./North HS) pitched two innings of relief. Joe Pontrelli (So., Eagan, Minn.) took the loss, with Russ Bauer (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) pitching in relief.

St. Thomas returns to MIAC action on Wednesday (4/17) at 2:30 p.m., playing a doubleheader at conference co-leader St. Olaf. Augsburg returns to action on Saturday (4/20) with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at St. John's.