Baseball 3/1/08 -- Augsburg 10-1, Edgewood (Wis.) 4-4

CLICK HERE FOR GAME 1 BOXSCORE
CLICK HERE FOR GAME 2 BOXSCORE
CLICK HERE FOR AUGSBURG SEASON STATISTICS

MINNEAPOLIS (3/1/08) -- Derek Williamson (SO, St. Francis, Minn.) hit his first collegiate home run, a three-run blast to left field in the fifth inning, breaking a tied game and helping the Augsburg College baseball team to a season-opening 10-4 victory over Edgewood College (Wis.) in nonconference action on Saturday night at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Auggies lost the second game 4-1.

Making his collegiate debut, Donald Blunt (FY, Richfield, Minn.) hit a two-run triple as part of a four-run sixth inning, enabling the Auggies to pull away from the Eagles in the opener. Mark Pederson (SR, Lexington, Minn./Centennial HS) had a 4-for-4 day at the plate in the first game, scoring a run and driving in two. Craig Henry (SO, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and a double, and Rick Andersen (SR, Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) went 2-for-3 in the first game and 3-for-6 in the doubleheader.

"Derek Williamson showed that he is ready to play at the varsity level. He has worked real hard on his swing and it paid off," said Augsburg head coach Keith Bateman of Williamson's home run. "Mark Pederson had a great overall game. He is another guy that has really tried to change his swing the past two years. Hard work pays off."

Augsburg hitters pounded out 14 hits in the first game, and were aided by a strong pitching effort by three pitchers -- starter Sam Weber (SO, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) struck out six in four innings of work, and relievers David Rasmussen (SO, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) and Shawn Sanders (JR, St. Charles, Minn.) preserved the win, with Sanders allowing only one run and no hits in his two innings of relief.

"Sam had a good outing. He showed poise in some tough situations. That is what needed to see from him," Bateman said. "Shawn came into Game 1 and looked very strong. He changed speeds well and hit his spots."

In the second game, Edgewood sent nine batters to the plate in the sixth inning, scoring three runs. A sacrifice fly by Dan Gugel (JR, Madison, Wis./LaFollette HS), RBI single by Matt Werner (JR, Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch gave the Eagles the three runs. Werner went 2-for-3 in the game, driving in two runs.

Augsburg starter Jason Kickhafer (JR, Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) struck out two in 5.1 innings of work in the second game, with Chris Purcell (SO, Northfield, Minn.) pitching in relief.

"'Kick' threw a great game. Things did not work out for him, but his line in the boxscore does not reflect his outing," Bateman said. "We hit a lot of balls hard and right at them. Those same hits fell in during Game 1. That is the way this game is. All you can do is continue to put good swings on the ball."

Augsburg faces Wisconsin-La Crosse on Tuesday (3/4) at 12:15 p.m. in a doubleheader at the Metrodome.