Baseball 4/15/07 -- Augsburg 3-3, St. Thomas 2-6

GAME 1 BOXSCORE 
GAME 2 BOXSCORE

ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/15/07) -- Craig Henry (Fr., Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) hit a three-run homer in the first inning to lift Augsburg College to victory in the first game, while Chris Bullis (Jr., Waconia, Minn.) hit a grand-slam home run in the second inning for the University of St. Thomas in the second game, as the teams split a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at UST's Koch Diamond.

Augsburg (12-13 overall, 4-4 MIAC) won the first game 3-2, while St. Thomas (19-7 overall, 8-2 MIAC), ranked No. 24 in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association Division III national rankings, won the second game 6-3. The games were considered Augsburg home contests, but were played at St. Thomas' park due to field conditions at Augsburg's home field, Parade Stadium in Minneapolis.

The first game was a game of "firsts" for three Auggie freshmen. Henry's one-out, three-run homer in the first inning -- his first collegiate home run -- provided all the runs the Auggies would need in the first game. He ended up going 2-for-3 for the Auggies in the first game, and 4-for-7 with six RBI overall in the doubleheader.

Augsburg starting pitcher Sam Weber (Fr., Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) shut down the Tommies over six innings of work to score his first collegiate victory, striking out seven while walking four and allowing just four Tommie hits in the game. Chris Purcell (Fr., Northfield, Minn.) struck out one in a scoreless seventh inning of relief to score his first collegiate save.

Meanwhile, St. Thomas starter Dan Leslie (So., West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) was also effective, striking out four while walking one and allowing just five Auggie hits in a complete-game effort.

The Tommies scored a single run in the second inning, as Eric Bisek (So., New Prague, Minn.) walked, advanced to third on a double by Brian Schmitz (So., Lakeville, Minn./North HS), and scored on a balk. Another Tommie run came across in the fifth inning, as Louie Slamen (So., St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) walked and scored on a double-play groundout.

In the second game, St. Thomas built a 6-0 lead after two innings, all on the long ball -- solo homers by Matt Olson (Fr., Anoka, Minn.) and Tom Wippler (Fr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) in the first inning, and Bullis' grand slam with one out in the second inning. Schmitz and Matthew Pexa (Jr., New Prague, Minn.) had two hits apiece for the Tommies in the second game.

Augsburg loaded the bases in the third inning, but on a sacrifice-fly attempt, an Augsburg runner was called out for leaving third base too early. But Henry followed with a two-run double to right field to cut into the Tommie lead. Augsburg scored another run in the fifth, as Henry hit a run-scoring single to drive in Andy Nelson * (Sr., Waseca, Minn.).

Lonnie Robinson (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS) picked up the victory for the Tommies, striking out five while walking three in 5.1 innings of work. Will Montgomery (Sr., West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) collected the save, striking out one in relief. Shawn Sanders (So., St. Charles, Minn.) took the loss for the Auggies, with Alex Glasenapp (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) striking out four in long relief and Tyler Kraft * (Sr, Savage, Minn./Burnsville HS) pitching a scoreless seventh inning, striking out one.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday (4/18) at 2:30 p.m. Augsburg hosts Carleton in an MIAC doubleheader at Parade Stadium, while St. Thomas hosts St. Scholastica in a single, nine-inning nonconference game.