Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Augsburg College 4, UW-Stout 1 | UW-Stout 7, Augsburg College 5
MINNEAPOLIS (March 12, 2013) - After a 4-1 loss in the first game, UW-Stout defeated Augsburg College, 7-5, in the second after Charlie Meyer drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Stout grabbed a 6-5 lead when Meyer drove in Mitch LaVelle, who singled to begin the inning. Dan Britts pitched two and one-third scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season.
In the first game of the two-game series, Stout (3-2) jumped out to an early lead. LaVelle drove in Jackson Hallahan with a double to right field in the bottom of the second inning to go up, 1-0.
Stout held that 1-0 lead through the first four innings, although it could have been a much more comfortable cushion. Stout left two runners on base in each of the first three innings and left another stranded in the fourth. They finished the game with seven hits, but stranded nine runners on the base paths.
Augsburg (4-2) went to work in the top of the fifth inning. They added a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings before they added two more insurance runs in the seventh. Augsburg's Steven Piette came in for the game's final two innings to pick up the save. John Gallice was credited with the win while Stout's Ian Schiltz picked up his first loss of the year. Brad Kohn delivered another quality start, allowing three hits and one run in five innings of work.
In the second game, it was all Cody Loertscher early. Like he has been doing all year, Loertscher was mowing down batters through the first three innings. He has still yet to allow a hit this season, extending his no-hit streak to eight innings, after adding three more tonight.
Behind Loertscher, Stout was able to grab a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third. In his first at-bat of the season, Nick Nalbach ripped a single through the left side of the infield and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Gangestad. LaVelle also picked up an RBI when he drove in Charlie Pelzer, who walked earlier in the inning.
Loertscher, who had been nearly perfect through three innings, ran into some trouble in the fourth. After walking the first two batters of the inning, he was replaced by Carter Vogt, who could not work out of the jam. Augsburg tied the score, and it was a 2-2 ballgame after four innings.
In the top of the fifth inning, Stout used a few Augsburg misfortunes to grab back the lead. With a runner already on, Santiago Morales struck out swinging, but advanced to first on a dropped third strike, to bring up Meyer with two on and two out. Meyer's ensuing routine single got past the outfielder, allowing Morales and Gangestad to score easily. Although Meyer, who was rounding third, was well behind the throw from the outfield, he scored when the catcher muffed the tag, rounding all four bases on a single to right field.
For the second straight inning, however, Augsburg tied up the game in the bottom half. After the first two Auggies grounded out to begin the inning, the next two singled to start a two-out rally. Brent Kolbow and Gary Mariscal each scored on an error and Ryan Sward drove in the game-tying run with an RBI single.
Just like they did a week ago at the same venue, however, Stout put together a seventh-inning rally to win the second game of a doubleheader. After Meyer drove in LaVelle to grab the lead for Stout, Gangestad added the seventh run when he scored on a wild pitch. Meyer finished the night 4-for-8 with three RBI's while LaVelle was 3-for-7 with an RBI in each game.
Britts improved to 1-0 on the season and Augsburg's Tyler Beck evened his record at 1-1. Stout used eight total pitchers on the night while Augsburg used 12 different options on the mound; six in each game.
Stout is off until they head to Fort Myers, Fla., for their annual spring break trip. The Blue Devils will open Sunday, March 17 when they face Otterbein College in a doubleheader.
