Baseball 4/27/03 -- St. Olaf 4-27, Augsburg 1-2

GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE


NORTHFIELD, Minn. (4/27/03) -- Mike Ludwig went 2-for-2 with a double and home run in the first game, and Joe Pavelko went 4-for-4 with a double to lead a St. Olaf College offensive outburst in the second game, as the host Oles claimed a sweep of Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Mark Almli Field.

After a close 4-1 win in the first game, St. Olaf exploded with a 27-2 triumph in the second game, moving the Oles to 19-12 overall, 12-4 in MIAC play. Augsburg drops to 9-22-2 overall and 4-14 in MIAC play, having dropped its last nine games in a row and 12 of its last 14.

St. Olaf built a 23-0 lead after the first three innings of the second game, scoring nine runs in the first inning and 12 runs in the third against four different Auggie pitchers. Augsburg managed just two runs in the fifth inning, before St. Olaf added another four runs in the sixth.

Twelve different Oles had hits in the second game, led by Pavelko's 4-for-4, three runs scored, two-RBI effort. Brett Thoreson went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, and Brad Baglien went 2-for-2 with four runs scored, five RBI and a home run. The Oles also benefited from four Augsburg errors and eight walks.

Augsburg was paced by Pat Marsh (Sr., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS), who went 4-for-4 with a run scored. Sammy Gross (Sr., Springfield, Minn.) went 2-for-3 with a double, while Russ Bauer (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) had a run-scoring double.

Taylor Pagel (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.) hit a solo home run in the second inning of the first game to tie it at 1-1. But Ludwig had a solo home run and a double, scoring twice, to lead St. Olaf in the first-game win.

Marsh went 2-for-4 for Augsburg, which was limited to just four hits against St. Olaf pitcher Charlie Rudd, who struck out five in a complete-game effort. Meanwhile, Augsburg pitcher Nick Rathmann (Sr., Waseca, Minn.) also pitched a complete-game effort, allowing seven hits and three walks while striking out one.

St. Olaf returns to MIAC action on Thursday (5/1), hosting St. John's at 2:30 p.m. Augsburg has its final doubleheader of the season next Saturday (5/3) at 1 p.m., at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minn.