ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The Augsburg University baseball team wrapped up its 2022 season on Monday afternoon, hitting seven home runs but dropping a pair of high-scoring nonconference contests to Crown College at Missile Park.  

THE BASICS
SCORES: Crown College 13, Augsburg 9; Crown College 12, Augsburg 9
LOCATION: Missile Park, St. Bonifacius, Minn.
RECORD: Augsburg 14-25 overall (6-14 MIAC), Crown College 26-12 overall

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS
• The Polar offense started the game hot, hitting a two-run home run and a grand slam in the bottom of the first to take a 6-0 lead.
• The Auggies had a quick response in the top of the second inning when Derek Albers (JR, Dundas, Minn./Northfield HS) homered to left field and scored Connor Stoik (JR, Eau Claire, Wis./Eau Claire Memorial HS), his first home run as an Auggie.
• Later in the inning, Michael Weiss (JR, Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar HS) cleared the bases with a single up the middle, scoring Carson Tomony (JR, Madison, Wis./Madison East HS), Lance Nayman (SO, St. Paul, Minn./Central HS),  and Carter Peterson (SO, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) to cut the deficit to just one run.
• After Crown added another run in the bottom half of the second, the Auggies took their first lead of the game in the top of the third when Tomony batted in both Peterson and Albers on a single and Brandon Lockhart (FY, Oakdale, Minn./Tartan HS) followed it up with another RBI single that scored Nayman and made it 8-7 in favor of Augsburg.
• The Polars would go on to tie the game again in the fourth, but Augsburg had another answer with a solo home run by Tomony in the top of the sixth to restore the one-run advantage.
• The Crown offense responded in a big way once again, hitting their second grand slam of the day and adding another run on an RBI double to take a 13-9 lead that would hold throughout the remainder of the game.
• Tomony was the offensive leader for Augsburg, going three-for-four with his first-career home run, three total RBIs, and two runs scored. Albers was also effective at the plate, finishing two-for-three with a home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored.
•  Jake Skogrand (FY, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) started the game on the mound, striking out six and allowing seven hits and four earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched. Matthew Rones (SR, Bethesda, MD./Walt Whitman HS) earned the loss for Augsburg, striking out one and allowing three earned runs in his 0.2 innings pitched. Lockhart recorded the final two outs for the Auggies, striking out one and allowing four hits and two runs.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS
• The Crown offense came out swinging again in game two, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
• Jack Baumgart (SR, Willmar, Minn./Willmar HS) got the Auggies on the board in the next half inning, sending a two-run home run, the first of his career, over the right-field fence to make it a one-run game.
• Following a five-run second inning by Crown that put the Polars up 8-2, Baumgart provided another spark with a sacrifice fly that brought Weiss home.
• Crown added another run in the third to go up by six runs, but the Auggie bats stayed hot with Weiss hitting a solo home run to right field and Stoik hitting a two-run shot later in the same inning.
• After two more Polar runs in the bottom of the fifth, Steven Salz (JR, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) joined the homer party with his third of the season, a two-run shot that plated Weiss. Baumgart kept the offense rolling with his second home run of the game to make it 11-9 in favor of Crown, but the Auggie offense stalled from that point on as Crown added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth and hung on for the three-run victory.
• Baumgart finished the game two-for-three with two home runs and four RBIs while Salz was three-for-four with a home run, two doubles, and two RBIs. Stoik was two-for-four with a home run and two RBIs.
• Dylan Irving (SR, New Brighton, Minn./Irondale HS) started the game on the mound, striking out one and giving up four hits and three runs in his 1.0 inning. Lukas Nyberg (SR, St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo HS) also pitched just one inning, allowing five this and four earned runs. Sean Littmann (FY, Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington HS) pitched 2.1 innings of relief, recording three strikeouts and allowing five hits and three runs. Weston Schug (SR, Becker, Minn./Becker HS) closed the game, allowing four hits and one run in 1.2 innings pitched.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• With two stolen bases in game one, Weiss extended his program record to 25 stolen bases in one season, besting the previous mark of 21 by four.

FOR THE FOES
• Mason Brock hit three homers on the day for Crown with one in game one and two in game two. Bailey Sarto and Seth Betts each also hit two home runs for the Polars.