MINNEAPOLIS – Led by 13 hits from the seniors on the team in game two of the doubleheader, the Augsburg University baseball team secured a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference split with Saint John's University on a sunny Sunday afternoon on Senior Day.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Saint John's 7, Augsburg 0; Augsburg 11, Saint John's 5
LOCATION: Parade Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 9-23 overall (6-13 MIAC), Saint John's 23-14 overall (14-6 MIAC)

GAME ONE RECAP
• The Auggie offense never truly found its footing in game one, recording just three hits and one walk throughout the game. The most significant scoring threat came with two outs in the bottom of the second when Carson Tomony (SR, Madison, Wis./Madison East HS) advanced to third base on a groundout by Brandon Lockhart (SO, Oakdale, Minn./Tartan HS), but the Auggies failed to capitalize as a strikeout ended the inning. In total, Augsburg left six runners stranded in the game.
• The Johnnie offense put together two strong innings to secure the win, scoring four in the second and three in the fifth to take the game 7-0.
• Myer Schmitz (SO, Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) made the start and took the loss on the mound, allowing nine hits and seven runs with four strikeouts in five full innings of work. Nick Allbee (FY, Savage, Minn./Prior Lake HS) pitched the final two innings of relief, allowing just two hits and holding the Johnnies scoreless with one strikeout.

GAME TWO RECAP
• The Johnnies scored first once again with a run in the top of the second, but the Auggies quickly responded in the bottom of the second when Lockhart hit a double to left-center field, scoring Tomony for the first Augsburg run of the day.
• The Auggies strung together more solid innings in the third, fourth, and fifth, scoring four unanswered to take a 5-1 lead. Connor Stoik (SR, Eau Claire, Wis./Eau Claire Memorial HS) hit an RBI triple in the third, one of four extra-base hits for the Auggies, to give the Auggies the lead. In the fourth, Tomony came around to score on a Johnny fielding error and Lockhart was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Joe Peterson (FY, Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen HS). In the fifth, Steven Salz (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) tacked on one more run with an RBI single that scored Michael Weiss (SR, Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar HS).
• Saint John's added a run in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to three, but the Auggies found another immediate response with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Weiss brought two around to score on a bases-loaded single while Salz added another RBI with a single that plated Clint Mattson (SR, North Branch, Minn./North Branch HS).
• The trend continued in the seventh with Saint John's scoring one and the Auggies responding with three runs later in the inning to make it 11-3. Mattson and Isaac Flynn (SR, Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) had one run batted in each in the inning while Lockhart came home on a wild pitch.
• The Johnnies scored two in the eighth, but that proved to be all they could do as Augsburg hung on for the 11-5 win.
• The senior bats led the way for Augsburg in game two, with 13 of the team's 16 hits coming from senior players. Tomony was a perfect 5-for-5 with three runs scored, setting a new career-high for hits in a game. Weiss went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored while Salz finished 2-for-5 with two runs batted in. Mattson, Stoik, and Flynn had one hit each. Lockhart was the only underclassman to record a hit for Augsburg in game two, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Austin Lang (FY, Anoka, Minn./Anoka HS) put together a strong start on the mound, picking up his first career win while allowing nine hits and just three runs with eight strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work. Sean Littmann (SO, Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington HS) recorded the final out of the seventh inning, holding the Johnnies hitless and scoreless. Manny Weiss (FY, Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar HS) pitched the eighth and allowed a hit and two runs while Vinny Rupp (FY, Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline HS) closed the game by holding Saint John's hitless and scoreless in the ninth.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• The game marked the final career home games for 12 Augsburg seniors: Collin Columbus (SR, St. Paul, Minn./Como Park HS), Flynn, Alex Hinz (SR, Maplewoood, Minn./Mounds Park Academy), Luke Johnson (SR, Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS), Matt Krenz (SR, Becker, Minn./Becker HS), Mattson, Matty Rones (SR, Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman HS), Salz, Stoik, Noah Thomas (SR, Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge HS), Tomony, and Weiss.
 
FOR THE FOES
• Jackson Peter went 4-for-8 at the plate between the two games, batting in a total of three runs for the Johnnies.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will wrap up their MIAC schedule tomorrow (Monday, May 8) with the completion of its halted game two against St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. Originally played on April 19, the game was halted due to darkness in the bottom of the seventh inning with St. Olaf leading 15-11.