SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The No. 20 Augustana baseball team (31-13, 24-5 NSIC) split a doubleheader with Minnesota State (30-10, 21-7 NSIC) on Wednesday evening, where they won the first game of the series 5-2 before they dropped game two 6-2.

The series split against the Mavericks keeps the Vikings in the top spot of the NSIC by 1.5 games over No. 4 St. Cloud State. Prior to the game, the first regional rankings of the season for the NCAA Central Region were announced. Augustana is ranked fourth in the initial regional rankings behind Central Missouri, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State.

Game One

In game one, the Vikings and Mavericks sent their aces to the mound, but the bats were alive early for both sides as the two teams scored runs in the first inning of the game. Minnesota State got on the board with one run in the first, before the Vikings put up a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning by capitalizing off of an error. 

JT Mix reached base on a throwing error and Riley Johnson tripled to left center to tie the game up at 1-1 before a Ryan Nickel sacrifice fly drove in Johnson for a 2-1 lead. The Vikings continued the scoring in the second inning when Sam Baier doubled to left center to drive in Nate Crossman who singled to lead off the inning. 

The Mavericks scored a run in the third inning to pull the game to one run yet again, and the game stayed at 3-2 till the bottom of the fifth inning. Augustana took advantage of Minnesota State mistakes in the inning as Michael Svozil scored after a throwing error by the catcher on a steal attempt. Mix scored the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Nickel to make it a 5-2 lead. 

In the top of the sixth, the Mavericks loaded the bases with two outs which brought the go-ahead run, Jordan Hart, the leading home run hitter in the conference to the plate. Max Steffens (6-0) and Hart battled to a full count before the junior pitcher struck out the Maverick slugger. 

Steffens finished off the game with a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the seventh and earned his sixth complete game and sixth win of the season. Steffens moves into a tie for fifth for complete games in a season in Augustana history.

Game Two

In game two, Augustana scored the first run of the game on a Nickel groundout that drove in Svozil. Minnesota State scored in the top of the second to knot the game up at 1-1. 

In the third inning, the Vikings scored two runs on a Mix RBI groundout that scored Svozil and a Crossman RBI single that drove in Nickel and took a two-run lead. 

Minnesota State scored the next five runs of the game and held the Vikings to just two hits after the fifth inning for a 6-3 win.

Next Up

The Vikings return to action Saturday and Sunday against Wayne State in a three-game series starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday.