Q-C connection guides Vikings baseball team
The Augustana College baseball team has set itself up for a nice little run at the postseason.
The 20th-ranked Vikings knocked off No. 2 Carthage over the weekend, clinching a spot in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament for the fourth straight season.
And with five home games remaining on the schedule after Monday night’s 13-6 win over Loras, they’re in position to have momentum on their side when the conference tournament gets under way May 8, and they’ve got a shot to earn a second straight NCAA regional berth.
“We’ve had our moments,” said 11th-year coach Greg Wallace, who last week picked up his 400th career victory. “We’ve done most of the things right most of the time, but we’ve had to battle through some tough periods, and we’re looking for a strong finish.”
The Vikings, who reached the championship of last year’s CCIW Tournament, have won seven of 10 games. And they’ve done it with a lot of help from three area players.
John Wagle, a junior from Rock Island, had a grand slam Sunday in the 11-9 win over Carthage. The third baseman leads the team with a .439 batting average, nine home runs and 48 RBIs.
“He’s stepped up and been our offensive leader most of the year. He’s been a guy we’ve been able to count on to drive some runs in and get things going for us,” Wallace said.
Shortstop Mark Ramos, a junior out of United Township, bats .339 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. Pitcher Brandon Engle, a junior from Moline, is 3-2 with a 4.34 ERA and 32 strikeouts.
With a 25-9 record, 10-7 in the CCIW, Augie will finish either third or fourth in the conference standings. Wheaton (20-11, 9-8) sits a game back. The Vikings have one game against seventh-place North Central, and three against sixth-place Millikin left on the conference schedule.
“All we’re really looking for down the stretch here is to play some good baseball as far as defense and get some good pitching,” Wallace said. “We need to get some momentum going into the conference tournament and make some things happen there.”
The Vikings lost to Carthage, 5-3 in extra innings, in the finals of last year’s CCIW Tournament but received an at-large berth to the NCAA regionals, where they finished runner-up to the Red Men.
Wallace said, with a strong finish this season, another at-large berth is a possibility.
But he doesn’t want to leave it to chance.
“A lot of it depends on how we finish these last few games here,” he said. “If we do well, I think we’ve got ourselves another option as far as getting in the tournament. But our goal is going to be to go to the conference tournament and win it.”
Eric Page can be contacted at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.