BRADENTON, Fla. – Powered by six home runs, the No. 19-ranked Augustana (Ill.) College Vikings swept Gettysburg in a doubleheader Thursday afternoon during the Bullets' Spring Break Trip to Florida.
Augustana (5-1) won the first game 13-7, then scored an 11-3 victory in the nightcap.
Gettysburg (4-3) was led by sophomore Kevin Langhauser (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), who went 3-for-7 with a pair of runs.
In the opener, the Bullets rallied from a 4-0 deficit with a four-run third. Sophomore Mike Backus (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata) ripped an RBI-double before senior Matt Stillitano (Ewing, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) blasted a three-run homer as Gettysburg pulled even.
The Viking answered with a five runs in the bottom of the inning, then made it eight unanswered with a three-run fifth to take a commanding 12-4 lead.
Langhauser finished 2-for-3 in the opener while junior Andrew Burton (McLean, Va./McLean) jacked a two-run homer in the sixth that made it a 12-7 game. Burton also finished 2-for-3.
Sophomore Ryan Dwyer (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) made his second collegiate start and suffered the loss for Gettysburg, yielding seven runs over 2 1/3. Eric Knott (2-0) scattered eight hits over 6.0 innings to earn the win for the Vikings, who had three long balls in the opener.
Augustana used a six-run second, capped by a John Wagle grand slam, to assume control in Game Two. Gettysburg made it a 7-3 game with a three-run third, but Viking starter Brandon Engle blanked the Bullets the rest of the way. Junior Scott Vladyka (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) ripped a two-run single in the inning, when all of Gettysburg's runs were unearned.
Vladyka and freshman Chris Simard (Lexington, Mass./Belmont Hill) each went 2-for-3 for Gettysburg while sophomore John Antrim-Cashin (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Fordham Prep) went the distance on the mound in his second collegiate start.
Engle finished with a seven-hit complete game and was backed by three more Viking home runs.
Gettysburg continues its southern swing on Friday, when it takes on Tri-State in a doubleheader starting at 10 a.m.
