Baseball 4/25/06 -- Augsburg 8-8, St. John's 9-5

GAME 1 BOXSCORE
GAME 2 BOXSCORE


COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (4/25/06) -- Ryan Lieser went 3-for-3 with a double and four runs batted in for St. John's University in the first game, while Andrew Werner (So., Vermillion, Minn./Hastings HS) struck out five in five innings of pitching for Augsburg College in the second game, as the teams split a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at St. John's.

St. John's won the first game 9-8, while Augsburg won the second game 8-5. Augsburg split its second straight league doubleheader to move to 16-14-1 overall, 6-8 in MIAC play, while St. John's is now 14-15-1 overall, 7-9 in MIAC play.

Werner improved to a team-best 4-0 in his eighth start of the season with his pitching performance in the second game, striking out five while walking three and allowing seven hits. Just one of the two runs scored against him were earned in his five innings of work. Josh Remme (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) and Tyler Kraft (Jr., Savage, Minn./Burnsville HS) pitched in relief, with Kraft appearing in his conference-high (overall) 15th game in relief.

Augsburg jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, as Mike Zaun (So., Mendota Heights, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) hit a run-scoring single and Andy Nelson (Sr., Waseca, Minn.) stroked a two-run single.

St. John's scored on an RBI double by Shawn Schoenberg in the second inning, but Augsburg scored twice in the third, on an RBI double by Ricky Schreier (Jr., St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) an d a run-scoring single by Matt Johnson (Jr., Plymouth, Minn./Osseo HS).

Garrett Flood drove in a Johnnie run on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, but Augsburg again pulled ahead with a run in the fifth, as Nelson scored on a wild pitch, and two runs in the sixth, on an RBI single by Darren Ginther (Sr., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) and a run-scoring fielder's choice by Keith Canter (So., West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS). St. John's scored twice after a throwing error in the seventh, and another run came in on a Lincoln Haugen RBI single.

Zaun, Nelson, Troy Deden (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) and Dusty Hinz (Fr., Richfield, Minn.) had two hits each for the Auggies in the second game, while Flood and Haugen had two hits each for the Johnnies.

In the first game, the Johnnies pounded out 13 hits, including three by Lieser and two each by Matt Meyer, Flood and Christian McPherson, to claim the win in the back-and-forth battle.

The Johnnies scored three runs in the first inning, on a Meyer RBI single and a two-run single by Haugen, but Augsburg answered with three runs in the second, as Jeff Stomberg (So., Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) plated Werner on a single, Brian Bambenek (Jr., St. Charles, Minn.) hit an RBI single, and Stomberg scored on a wild pitch. St. John's took the lead back on a Lieser run-scoring single in the bottom of the second.

In the fourth, Augsburg took the lead with a three-run frame, as Werner scored on a throwing error after stealing a base, Hinz drove in a run on a single, and Bambenek scored on a wild pitch. But St. John's took the lead back in the bottom of the inning, with Casey Haugen driving in a run on a double and Lieser plating a run on a sacrifice fly.

The Johnnies scored three more runs in the fifth, as Ryan Stark hit a double and scored on an error, and Lieser stroked a two-run double. Augsburg scored twice in the sixth, on a two-run double by Deden. Augsburg had the potential go-ahead run on base in the top of the seventh, with runners at second and third and two outs, but a groundout ended the game.

Both teams are in nonconference action on the road on Wednesday (4/26), as Augsburg play at Wisconsin-Stout at 1 p.m. in Menomonie, Wis., and St. John's travels to face St. Cloud State at 4 p.m.