SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Augustana baseball team (25-11, 18-4 NSIC) looks to stay atop the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings as they take on the University of Sioux Falls on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Vikings and Cougars have had wildly different seasons this year as Augustana sits in first place in the NSIC, while Sioux Falls is lagging behind in 11th place.

The mid-week series is the first meeting between the two programs this season and the first since a series split on April 25 of last year. 

The Vikings return to the diamond after winning a weekend series against Concordia St. Paul. With just under three weeks remaining in the regular season, Augustana holds the third best batting average in the conference and has the fourth best ERA among their conference counterparts. 

Junior Riley Johnson has followed up a spectacular 2018 campaign with more of the same in 2019 as he holds a .400 batting average with the second most runs scored in the entire NSIC. Sam Baier and Michael Svozil sit in a tie for third place in stolen bases in the conference with 15 each. 

Max Steffens and Seth Miller each pitched complete games this past weekend against Concordia St. Paul, with Steffens going nine complete innings in a 5-1 win, while Miller went six innings in a 1-0 pitcher's duel. 

Scouting Sioux Falls

The Cougars are coming off of being swept in a three-game series with Wayne State on the road. The Wildcats took down the Cougars 3-2, 3-7, and 4-2 in the finale. 

Sioux Falls has leaned on their ability to draw walks this season and sit in fifth place in the category. The Cougars are also tied for the conference lead in triples, knocking in 11 thus far. Sioux Falls also limits the amount of walks they surrender as they find themselves in sixth in the conference in the category. 

At the plate, Sioux Falls is led by Josh Rehwaldt who is batting .336 on the season. Rehwaldt has 24 RBI this season with six home runs. 

Next Up

After the doubleheader with their in-town rival, Augustana is set to play a four-game home series with Winona State on April 19-20. The final game of the series is a non-conference game.