Baseball Knocks off Augustana in Non-Conference Finale

Scots beat Vikings for first time in 21 years

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (04/30/2026) — The Monmouth College baseball team finished the non-conference schedule on Wednesday night by beating Augustana College for the first time in 21 years. The Fighting Scots (14-20) plated a run in the top of the ninth to beat the Vikings (24-13) 5-4.

The Scots got the offense going in the top of the first. With one out, Aiden Scott (Carrollton, Texas) singled and took second on a throwing error. Clayton Matkovic (Sherrard, Illinois) singled to right for a 1-0 lead.

Augustana got on the board in the bottom of the first against starter Brandon Coats (Mapleton, Illinois). Two singles and a stolen base put two in scoring position with nobody out .A sacrifice fly tied the game but Coats got out of the inning with a runner left on.

Heath Hornke (Normal, Illinois) tossed the next three innings and kept the Vikings off the board. Aidan Parkins (Monmouth, Illinois) was hit by a pitch in the fourth and went all the way to third on an errant pickoff throw. The Scots took a 2-1 lead when Parkins scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Scott.

The Vikings got even with a run against reliever Blake Sierens (Sherrard, Illinois) in the fifth. That run was unearned with an error, stolen base, wild pitch and sacrifice fly. An inning later they took a 3-2 lead against Caleb Ochs (Royal, Illinois) with two doubles.

Matkovic started the seventh with a single and Eric Campen (Washington, Illinois) singled with one out. Logan Straube (Wheaton, Illinois) doubled to right as Matkovic scored to tie the game. Zach Almaguer (Monmouth, Illinois) walked to load the bases but Monmouth's third double play of the game ended the threat.

Augustana regained the lead in the bottom of the inning with Will Baumgartner (Sycamore, Illinois) on the mound, A single, hit batter and single loaded the bases with one out. After a strikeout, Augustana scored on a walk before a groundout ended the inning.

Gabriel Zeigler-Harris (East Peoria, Illinois) led off the eighth with a walk and he moved to second on a sac bunt by Parkins. With two outs, Matkovic delivered a game-tying single, his third hit of the game.

Ryan Garofoli (Chicago, Illinois) set the Vikings down in order in the bottom of the inning. Campen led off the ninth with a single and Sam Genslinger (Waterman, Illinois) came up to pinch-hit. He singled to right as Campen moved to third. Bobby Russell (Plainfield, Illinois) pinch-ran and Campen scored on a sacrifice fly by Almaguer. Zeigler-Harris and Parkins both walked with two outs but the Scots left the bases loaded.

Leading 4-3 into the bottom of the ninth, senior Owen Wolfe (Galesburg, Illinois) took over on the mound. He set the Vikings down in order on a flyout and two groundouts for his first save of the season.

Garofoli (3-0) picked up the win with a perfect frame. He and Wolfe combined to retire the final six Vikings in order. Hornke was the only Monmouth pitcher to go more than an inning as he allowed two hits and struck out one without giving up a run.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Almaguer had his 11-game hitting streak snapped but delivered the game-winning RBI ... Matkovic and Campen both had three hits ... Wilkerson had two hitsMatkovic added two RBI ... He moved into 13th on the career hits list ... With six career saves, Wolfe is tied with Alex Sheetz and Nick Villa for sixth in school history ... Augustana leads the all-time series 59-44 ... The Scots last beat the Vikings in 2005 when Coach Betourne was a senior first baseman ... Augustana had won 14 straight in the last 21 years ... Monmouth plays at Lawrence this weekend with two games on Saturday and one on Sunday ... The Scots must win at least two games to qualify for the MWC Tournament while also having Cornell lose their series at Beloit.