MANKATO, Minn. – The Augsburg University baseball team returned to action on Thursday evening after being idle for nearly three weeks, falling 11-5 to Bethany Lutheran College on the road.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Bethany Lutheran 11, Augsburg 5
LOCATION: Mankato, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 3-9 overall, Bethany Lutheran 6-6 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• After Bethany Lutheran took a 1-0 lead in the first on an Auggie error, Adam Marshall (SO, Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) gave Augsburg an equalizer with a sacrifice fly that plated Ty Gage (JR, Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) in the top of the second.
• Following a scoreless third inning, the Auggies took their first lead of the game when Brandon Lockhart (SO, Oakdale, Minn./Tartan HS) brought both Gage and Carson Tomony (SR, Madison, Wis./Madison East HS) around to score on a double. Lockhart would extend the Auggie advantage to three just three batters later, advancing to home on a throw following a single by Michael Weiss (SR, Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar HS).
• Marshall came through for the Auggies again in the top of the fifth, scoring Steven Salz (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) on a double. The Vikings added one run in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to three.
• After two more scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, the eighth inning quickly got out of hand for the Auggies, with the Vikings scoring nine runs to take an 11-5 lead that would hold for the duration of the game.
• Gage finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate while Weiss and Lockhart were both 2-for-4.
• Jake Skogrand (SO, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) gave the Auggies an excellent start on the mound, striking out four while allowing just three hits and one earned run in seven innings pitched.
 
FOR THE FOES
• The Vikings spread the offense throughout the lineup with seven players getting a hit, but none registering multiple hits. Aidan Russell and Matt Verdugo each had one hit with two runs batted in.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies are set to take on Concordia-Moorhead in a doubleheader on the campus of Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn. on Monday (4/10) after the games were moved there due to weather and field conditions.