Local college report

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By staff report | Friday, May 11, 2007 11:00 PM CDT | () comments

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — It was a long way from being easy, but Augustana has battled its way into the championship game of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball tournament.

The Vikings (32-11) claimed a 16-14 victory over Elmhurst in the loser’s bracket Friday, then turned around and eliminated host Illinois Wesleyan with a 7-2 win in the final game of the day.

They face Carthage today at noon at Jack Horenberger Field. Carthage, which beat Augie 14-4 on Thursday and defeated 12th-ranked Wesleyan 10-3 earlier Friday, can win the title with a victory. If Augustana wins, the teams play again to determine the championship of the double-elimination event.

Just getting to the second game Friday was a challenge for Augie.

Mike Pagano struck out Vince Mathe with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to preserve the victory over Elmhurst. Augustana took a 16-10 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but three hit batsmen, two singles and a walk allowed the Bluejays to close the gap before Pagano slipped a called third strike past Mathe.

The two teams not only combined for 30 runs but also 30 hits, six errors, 19 walks, seven extra base hits and six hit batsmen.

The game also featured a school record-tying 10th home run by Augustana leadoff man Marc Blakeley, who matched a record shared by Ernie Jack and teammate Jake Meisenbach. Jack hit 10 in 2001, and Meisenbach did it 2005.

Every Augustana starter had at least one hit, and eight of the nine had an RBI. Former United Township star Mark Ramos collected four hits, five runs scored and three RBIs.

Against Illinois Wesleyan, Moline’s Brandon Engle scattered nine hits over nine innings to give Augie the win.

Augustana softball eliminated from Division III regional

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Augustana College’s softball season came to an end as the Vikings lost for the second straight day in the NCAA Division III regional at Gelein Field.

Amy Hanse drove in Ashley Leonard with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Coe College a 1-0 victory over the Vikings. Coe had runners on base in each of its final four innings before finally capitalizing in the eighth.

Augustana had its share of opportunities against Ellie Schultz, who struck out a Division III record 25 Thursday in a 14-inning loss to Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Vikings managed only a walk in the first four innings against Schultz but got one hit in each of the last four innings. They had runners at second and third in the fifth and also got runners as far as second base in the seventh and eighth innings.

Jordan Huff pitched the first six innings for Augustana, giving up six hits. Alissa Shaner came on in relief and suffered the loss.