Rock Island Today

Baseball returns to Florida for RussMatt Invitational

Augustana baseball will return to the Sunshine State from March 24-29 for the RussMatt Invitational. The Vikings will play games against Union (N.Y.), Colby, and St. Olaf. 

Augie is currently on an 11-game winning streak and has a 12-2 record, with their most recent game resulting in a 16-2 thumping of Dominican on Sunday, March 19. Harrison Boushele earned his fifth win of the season in the rout, tossing five innings and striking out eight batters with zero earned runs. The Vikings' offense only saw six innings of action, scoring at least two runs in all but one frame. Augie notched 14 hits, tying a season-high, with the other outing coming on February 25 against Blackburn. Cole Green led the squad with six RBI, while six other Vikings added at least one.

The Vikings open their spring break slate on Friday with a contest against the Union Dutchmen, who currently possess a 3-3 record. In their most recent action, the Dutchmen dropped both games of their doubleheader against St. Lawrence on Wednesday by scores of 2-1 and 8-5. In game one, Union fell in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh after entering the inning at a 1-1 deadlock. The Dutchmen fell behind 6-0 in the second game but went on a 5-1 run across the third, fourth, and fifth innings to cut the deficit to two. The Saints snuffed out the Union comeback attempt after adding a run in the sixth inning a relying on right-hander Brett Parker for the save. Augie holds a 1-0 advantage over the Dutchmen in the all-time series, with their lone meeting resulting in a 6-3 victory at last season's RussMatt Invitational.

Augie draws the Colby Mules on Saturday for their second and final game in Auburndale. The Mules currently possess a 6-3 record and have won three of their last four matchups, most recently defeating the Wooster Fighting Scots 12-8 on Wednesday. Colby leaped to a 6-0 edge before Wooster responded with a string of runs in the third, fourth, and sixth innings to trim the lead to two. The Mules scored five of the next six runs in the contest to stretch their lead to seven, ultimately holding off a late surge from the Fighting Scots in the ninth to secure the four-run win. Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between Augustana and Colby. 

Augustana's Florida slate concludes with three games against the St. Olaf Oles in Winter Haven, Fla., on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The Oles enter the RussMatt Invitational with a 2-1 record, having faced Simpson in all three of their contests this season. St. Olaf defeated the Storm 15-2 in their final game, recording 15 hits, while starting pitcher Sam Lavin struck out seven batters in three innings of action. Augustana leads the Oles 1-0 in the all-time series, with their lone meeting resulting in a 3-1 triumph for the Vikings at last year's invitational. 

Augie opens their spring break trip on Friday against Union at 11:00 a.m. CDT from Lake Myrtle Park. The action can be streamed pay-per-view at this link. 

Original source can be found here