GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- James Panning (SR, Gibbon, Minn./Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop HS) went 7-for-9 at the plate with a double, five RBI and four runs scored, as Augsburg College claimed a key sweep of host St. John's University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon.

Augsburg (18-16 overall, 9-7 MIAC) won the first game 9-7 in nine innings, then topped St. John's (10-16 overall, 5-9 MIAC) 10-4 in the nightcap. Augsburg has now won five of its last seven games to remain in the hunt for a berth in the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs.

The Auggies claimed the win in the top of the ninth inning, as Tim Gerding (FY, Robbinsdale, Minn./Cooper HS) led off the frame with a double, then scored on an RBI single by Panning. Relief pitcher Kristofer Ozga (SO, Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Stevenson HS) then struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to pick up the win. Ozga struck out five in 2.2 innings of relief work.

The Auggies used big innings to take the early lead, with a four-run first inning -- keyed by a three-run homer by Joe Pierce (JR, Eden Prairie, Minn.) -- and a three-run fourth inning. Panning, Brent Kolbow (FY, Forest Lake, Minn.) and Craig Henry (JR, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) had two hits each for the Auggies.

In the second game, Augsburg rallied from a 3-1, second-inning deficit to score the win, including a three-run fifth and three-run sixth inning. Donald Blunt (SO, Richfield, Minn.) hit a two-run homer for the Auggies in the fifth inning, and Panning had a two-run double in the sixth.

Panning went 5-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored for the Auggies in the second game, while Pierce and Blunt had two hits and two RBI apiece. Eric Olson (JR, New Prague, Minn.) went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Augsburg returns to MIAC play on Saturday (4/25) at 1 p.m., with a doubleheader at Gustavus.