Baseball 4/10/08 -- Augsburg 8-4, Carleton 3-7 (2nd game 8 inn.)
CLICK HERE FOR GAME 1 STATISTICS
CLICK HERE FOR GAME 2 STATISTICS
CLICK HERE FOR AUGSBURG SEASON STATISTICS
MINNEAPOLIS (4/10/08) -- Leadoff hitter Jeff Stomberg * (SR, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) went 4-for-7 with two runs scored and three stolen bases in the doubleheader for Augsburg College, while Carleton College's Jay Melson (JR, Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and three runs scored, as the teams split a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader on Thursday night at the Metrodome.
Augsburg (13-9 overall, 5-1 MIAC) extended its winning streak to eight straight games with an 8-3 victory in the first game, but had the streak snapped by Carleton (8-14 overall, 1-5 MIAC) with a 7-4, eight-inning decision in the second game.
Rick Andersen (SR, Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) and Derek Williamson (SO, St. Francis, Minn.) led the way for the Auggies in the first game. Williamson went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a double while stealing two bases, while Andersen had a triple and double, driving in two runs and scoring one. Stomberg went 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring a run.
Augsburg pulled away with a five-run fourth inning, sending nine batters to the plate. Andersen had an RBI triple, followed later by a two-run double by Williamson.
Sam Weber (SO, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) pitched five innings for the victory for the Auggies, striking out four while walking two. Alex Gustafson (JR, Anoka, Minn.) pitched two innings of scoreless relief.
Carleton's scoring in the first game was provided by Melson, who hit a towering three-run homer to left-center in the third inning, going 2-for-2 at the plate in the game. Michael Servis (FY, East Lansing, Mich.) and Jake Riss (JR, White Plains, N.Y.) pitched for the Knights in the first game.
In the second contest, Carleton rallied from a 4-0, second-inning deficit with three runs in the fifth inning and one run in the sixth to force extra innings, then scored three runs in the top of the eighth to pull away. In the eighth, a single by Russ Fujisawa (SO, Riverwoods, Ill./Deerfield HS), a double by Melson and an intentional walk loaded the bases off of Augsburg reliever Chris Purcell (SO, Northfield, Minn.). With the bases loaded, a hit batter forced in a run, a sacrifice fly by Grant Bowen (FY, Duxbury, Mass.) plated another, and the final run came in on a double by Dan Matthews (SO, Tulsa, Okla./Holland Hall HS). Augsburg was retired in order in the bottom of the eighth.
Augsburg built a 4-0 lead after two innings, scoring on an RBI single by Craig Henry (SO, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) and an RBI double by Bryan Ludwig (SR, Woodbury, Minn.) in the first inning, and on a two-run single by Andersen in the second.
Augsburg starter Cole Oosterhuis (FY, White Bear Lake, Minn.), making his first career MIAC start, pitched four innings of no-hit baseball, allowing just two baserunners on walks. But he surrendered three runs in the fifth inning, as the Knights put together four hits and took advantage of a throwing error to cut into the lead. Doubles by Matthews and Zach Miller (FY, Clayton, Mo.) were the key hits of the frame. The Knights then tied the game in the sixth, as Melson walked, advanced on a stolen base and wild pitch, and scored following a fielding error.
Reliever Sam Cross-Knorr (SO, Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale HS) picked up the pitching win for the Knights, throwing four innings of shutout relief, allowing just two hits while striking out two.
Both Augsburg and Carleton were scheduled to play MIAC doubleheaders on Saturday, but the games -- Augsburg at St. Olaf and Carleton at St. Mary's -- have already been postponed due to wintry weather.
