SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Augustana baseball team (27-11, 20-4 NSIC) returns home for a week-long homestand on Friday and Saturday against Winona State (16-15, 9-10 NSIC) in a four-game series beginning at 4:00 PM on Friday and noon on Saturday. 

The homecoming arrives after being on the road for over two weeks where the Vikings went 7-3. 

The series is the first meeting between the two programs this season and the first since April 21 of 2016 where the Vikings swept a mid-week series.

The Vikings return to the diamond after sweeping a mid-week series against cross-town rival Sioux Falls. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Augustana holds the third best batting average in the conference and has the third best ERA among their conference counterparts. 

Sophomore JT Mix led the way for the Vikings at the plate against Sioux Falls going 3-6 in the two-game series with three RBI. Mix is batting .380 this season, which is ninth best in the conference, with 18 RBI. Michael Svozil went 2-8 against the Cougars and scored four runs with a pair of stolen bases and an RBI. 

Evan Furst (4-0) took the mound against Sioux Falls and pitched 5.2 innings, struck out five, and gave up just two hits on the game. Tanner Brown (4-0) started game two and pitched six complete innings while striking out 11 batters, marking the second time this season that the sophomore has struck out 10 or more batters in a single game. 

Scouting Winona State

The Warriors are coming off of a doubleheader split against Wayne State on Tuesday afternoon. Winona State won the first game of the series 5-1 before dropping game two 10-0 in seven innings.

At the plate, Winona State is led by Sam Kohnle who has batted .374 this season with 18 RBI. Tanner Williams leads the Warriors in home runs and is tied for the lead in RBI with Derek Martin at 19. 

On the mound, the Warriors are highlighted by Dillon Whittaker (3-2), who has pitched 43 innings this season with an ERA of 4.19. Whittaker has the most strikeouts on the team with 40. Kyle Gendron (2-2) holds a 3.48 ERA in 31 innings on the mound and has walked only six batters.

Next Up

Following the weekend series, the Vikings will host Minnesota State in a mid-week doubleheader on April 24 beginning at 4:00 PM.