FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Wisconsin Lutheran College baseball team wrapped up its week at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Saturday by falling to Augustana (Ill.) 16-6 in eight innings at the Boston Red Sox Player Development Complex.
Sophomore Cody Nevils (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca Raton) got the Warriors on the scoreboard in the first inning, crossing the plate on freshman Joey Hodkiewicz's (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) RBI single. In the top of the second, sophomore Garrick Day (Elk Mound, Wis./Elk Mound) came around to score on a Nevils RBI single to give the Warriors a 2-0 advantage.
Following three shutout innings by sophomore starter Alex Raver (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett), the Vikings bats came alive, exploding for nine unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of three Warriors errors in the inning.
The Warriors responded with two more runs in the fifth, led by Hodkiewicz's two-run single that scored Nevils and junior Doug Martin (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran). After two more Vikings runs in the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors answered with two more runs in the top of the sixth. Nevils drove in Day and freshman Connor Vredeveld (Waterloo, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) with a two-run single to cut the Augustana lead to 11-6.
The Vikings added one more run in the sixth and four in the eighth to help seal the victory. Jared McIntosh earned the win for Augustana, allowing three earned runs in 5.2 innings. Jeremy Juhl and Joe Cecchi each had three RBI for the Vikings. Mark VanNatta and Kurt Schmidt each scored three runs.
Raver took the loss for WLC, despite allowing just one earned run in 3.1 innings. Nevils led the way for the Warriors offensively, going 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Hodkiewicz added three RBI on 3-for-4 at the plate. Day also went 1-for-3, scoring three runs for the Warriors.
Wisconsin Lutheran (1-8) returns to action on March 24 with a non-conference doubleheader at North Park (9-2). First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Holmgren Athletic Complex in Chicago, Ill.