MANKATO, Minn. - The No. 1 Augustana baseball team (38-6, 24-6 NSIC) dropped its first series of the 2018 season after getting swept by Minnesota State (30-11, 25-7 NSIC) on Sunday in Mankato, Minn.

The Vikings dropped game one, 3-1, and gave up a season high in runs the 13-8 game two loss. Augustana dropped three of four to Minnesota State and lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Augustana moved to second in the NSIC standings after Minot State swept Upper Iowa this weekend. Minot State (25-6 NSIC) leads the NSIC based on conference winning percentage followed by Augustana (24-6 NSIC) and Minnesota State (25-7 NSIC). All three teams will wrap up the regular season on Friday and Saturday, May 4-5 with Minot State traveling to U-Mary, Minnesota State traveling to Upper Iowa and Augustana hosting Wayne State.

GAME ONE: Minnesota State 3, Augustana 1
Game one on Sunday was a game of squandered opportunities for the Augustana. The Vikings left eight runners on base and gave up one big inning to the Mavericks in a 3-1 loss.

The Vikings got on the board first against the Mavericks for the third straight game with a run in the second. Lucas Barry recorded a RBI single to score Jordan Barth to give the Vikings an early 1-0 lead. The Mavericks would take a 3-1 lead in the fourth where they would tally three out of their four hits on the game and produce a three-run inning.

David Flattery (5-2) took the loss after going 3.1 innings allowing three runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Austin Orvis went 0.1 innings with a strikeout and Derek Dahlke finished the game going 2.1 innings allowing no hits with three strikeouts. Barry went 1-for-1 with two walks and a RBI.

GAME TWO: Minnesota State 13, Augustana 10
Augustana fell in game two to Minnesota State, 13-10. The Mavericks 13 runs were the most the Vikings have surrendered this season and it marks the first time this season that the Viking have lost back-to-back games.

The Vikings were first to score again against the Mavericks as they would tally two runs in each of the first and second innings. Riley Johnson started the game off with a single and would score on a Michael Svozil triple and Sam Baier would score on a Jordan Barth sacrifice fly. In the second, JT Mix would score on a little league home run, after tripling and subsequently scoring on an error by the Mavericks, with Lucas Wylie also scoring on the play, giving the Vikings a 4-0 lead.

The Mavericks would take the lead in the second after an eight-run bombardment. The Vikings would get three runs back in the fifth on a Ryan Nickel two-RBI double and a Lucas Barry RBI single, making it 8-7 Minnesota State.

The Mavericks added three runs in sixth and the Vikings countered with a run on a RBI single from Wylie in the seventh. The Mavericks added another two runs in the seventh and the Vikings would put up a fight in the ninth with a pair of runs, but ultimately fell 13-10.

Seven of the nine Viking hitters had hits, including six players having multi-hit games. Johnson, Svozil, Jordan Barth, Wylie, Barry and Mix each had two hits in game two and Nickel and Mix had two RBI apiece.

The Vikings will wrap up the regular season with a four-game home series against Wayne State on Friday and Saturday, May 4-5 at Karras Park.