North Park needed only seven innings to top Augustana, 14-3, in game one of Saturday's doubleheader in Rock Island. The Chicago Vikings scored in six of the seven innings to back Mike Giovenco's complete-game six-hitter.
Trevor Popp opened the game with a single and a stolen base and later scored on a single by Andy Athans. After Augustana tied the game in the bottom of the first on a pair of hits, North Park broke out with four in the second, due in part to some shaky Augustana defense. Devin Melecio and Brian Staatz opened the inning with back-to-back singles. A passed ball allowed Melecio to score, and an errant throw on the same play scored Staatz. With two outs, Popp and Wade Yunker each singled, and the cut-off throw bounced past the shortstop to allow Yunker to take second. Mike Domenick then singled to drive in both runners for a 5-1 lead.
Augustana rallied for a pair of runs in the second on three hits, but Giovenco would shut the door on the host Vikings the rest of the way. He scattered three walks and a single over the last five frames to pick up his fourth win of the season.
In the meantime, North Park's offense continued to fire on all cylinders. In the third, Melecio doubled and scored on a single by Zach Deutscher. Mike Sommerfield followed with a double to drive in Deutscher for a 7-3 lead. The fourth inning put the game out of reach as North Park scored five runs. Yunker and Domenick opened the inning with back-to-back doubles; Athans reached on an error, Javech singled in Domenick; Javech stole second and Athans scampered in on another Augustana error; Staatz was hit by a pitch and Deutscher drew a walk; and Sommerfield and Popp hit back-to-back RBI singles. The Vikings added single runs in the fifth (Athans singled and scored on a double by Javech) and seventh (Javech doubled and scored on a single by Melecio).
Every batter in the lineup had at least one hit, with Popp, Javech, and Melecio garnering three each, while Yunker, Domenick, Athans, and Sommerfield had two each.
North Park (14-7, 3-2) faces Augustana in the nightcap. |
