MINNEAPOLIS – The Edgewood College baseball team swept a late-night doubleheader with Augsburg College on Saturday, 8-4 and 5-2, from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Edgewood improved to 3-1 overall, while the Auggies fell to 1-3.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game one. Nick Wilz’s seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield (Appleton, Wis.) scored Jon Adair (Prairie du Sac, Wis.), and Shawn Burcum (DeForest, Wis.) later crossed home plate on a fielder’s choice.
Augsburg answered in the bottom of the frame, plating their first run of the contest on an RBI triple that was hammered deep to the centerfield wall by the Auggies’ Darren Ginther. Edgewood starting pitcher Andrew Handorf (DeForest, Wis.) then hit two Augsburg batters to load the bases and walked Brian Bambenek, which tied the score at 2-2.
It wouldn’t take Handorf very long to regain his control, however, as the 6-foot-2 right hander struck out the side in the bottom of the second. Although both of his runs were earned, Handorf went on the hurl four complete innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four to pick up his first win of the season.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Burcum and Wilz in the top of the fifth gave the Eagles a 4-2 advantage giving way to reliever Jeff Potts (Kirkland, Wash.). Potts, a junior transfer from Shoreline Community College in Washington, went on to finish the game on the mound en route to his first save in an Edgewood uniform, but not before the Eagles added four insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
The inning was highlighted by a leadoff double by Adair, an RBI double by Burcum, and a bases-clearing triple by Derek Jew (Homewood, Ill.). Burcum led Edgewood at the plate in game one by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a three runs scored.
Again, Edgewood was the first team to get on the scoreboard in the nightcap by taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. A wild pitch and two errors by the Auggies led to their early deficit.
The Eagles added another run in the fourth, when freshman Ryan Siebert (Winthrop Harbor, Ill.) scored from second base on an RBI single by fellow rookie Ricky Martinez (Beach Park, Ill.). Martinez led all Eagle hitters, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate.
Defensive miscues continued to haunt the opposing team in the fifth frame as three errors cost the Auggies two more runs and gave Edgewood a comfortable 5-0 lead.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Augsburg took advantage on a misplayed single that ended up near the right field wall, allowing one run to score. An RBI single by Ginther gave the Auggies their second and final run of the game.
Edgewood starter Ryan Halliburton (Dewey, Ariz.) turned in arguably the strongest pitching performance of the weekend. Halliburton allowed four hits in four innings, while striking out five without a walk. In his first collegiate appearance, Bill Dictus (Combined Locks, Wis.) followed with two flawless two innings of relief, and Derek Jew closed the door after facing two batters in the top of the seventh to earn the save.
