MINNEAPOLIS – The Carleton College baseball team jumped out to early leads in both ends of its doubleheader at Augsburg College, but the Knights had to settle for a split, dropping the opener 8-5 before taking the nightcap, 12-6. Danny Shields (Fy./Richfield, Minn/Holy Angels) tossed 6.0 innings of solid relief for the win in game two. Erik Fabry (Jr./Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) paced Carleton with four hits on the day.
The Knights raced out to a 3-0 lead after a half-inning of play in game one. Following a walk and a pair of singles, Adam Zweber (So./Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis) successfully laid down a squeeze bunt, and Fabry followed with a two-out, two-run single to center.
Sloppy defense, a walk, and hit batsmen proved to be the Knights downfall, however. Augsburg pushed across four runs in the bottom of the frame and added two more in both the third and fourth innings.
Paul Dimick (Jr./Northfield, Minn./Northfield) absorbed the loss, dropping to 2-5 on the season. He yielded all eight runs (five earned) on nine hits, a walk and two hit batters in 4.0 innings on the hill.
Game two started in a similar fashion. RBI hits by Ray Yong (Fy./Elmhurst, Ill./York) and Alex Wirta (Jr./Corte Madera, Calif./Redwood) staked the visitors to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
In the bottom of the inning, Augsburg once again plated four runs. Knights starter Jackson Tears (Fy./Trabuco Canyon, Calif./JSerra) was unable to retire any of the five batters he faced—three walks, a hit batter, and an unsuccessful fielder’s choice. Shields (3-0) took over and kept the Auggies in check until the Carleton offense could get going again.
The Knights re-claimed the lead in the third. Grant Bowen’s (Sr./Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) double plated Kevin Johnson (Fy./St. Anthony, Minn./DeLaSalle), and Fabry pushed Carleton in front to stay with a two-run single through the right side. An inning later, Johnson and Yong were both hit by pitches and Wirta brought them home with a two-run double to left. Five of the top six hitters in the Carleton lineup had multi-hit affairs.
Shields faced two over the minimum through his first five innings of work. He finally ran into trouble in the sixth, surrendering two runs, but just one of them earned as Augsburg closed to within 7-6.
The Knights finished with a season-best 12 runs as they put the game out of reach with a five-run seventh inning. Kiyota Gomi (Jr./Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Ardsley) smacked a two-run double to right, Yong drew a bases-loaded walk, Bowen singled home another run, and the finally tally came on a wild pitch. Senior Jacob Anderson (Anoka, Minn./Anoka) worked the bottom of the seventh to seal the victory.
Fabry went 4-for-6 on the day with a pair of runs scored and four RBI. Yong was 3-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI.
“It’s great to get another win on the board,” said Carleton Head Coach Aaron Rushing, “and hopefully we can carry the momentum across town when we face Olaf on Saturday.”
The Knights and Oles close out the regular season on May 7. First pitch from Mark Almli Field is slated for 1 p.m.
