SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- After the first regular season conference title in school history, the No. 25 ranked and top-seeded Augustana baseball team (36-14, 29-6 NSIC) is prepared to make another run in the NSIC Tournament with an opening round game against the eighth-seeded Winona State Warriors (24-21, 16-16 NSIC) on Wednesday at noon in St. Cloud, Minn. 

The opening round game against the Warriors will be the second time the teams have met this season as they played each other just under three weeks ago in a four-game series. The Vikings won three of the four games in that series. 

Augustana holds the second-best team batting average in the conference, hitting .327 as a unit entering the conference tournament. After an injury sidelined Jordan Barth for three weeks, the sophomore returned to the starting lineup against Upper Iowa, going 4-9 in games two and three with a home run and three RBI. 

Sophomore Ryan Nickel drove in seven RBI in the Upper Iowa series with a pair of doubles in the Vikings' 27-5 win over the Peacocks. 

On the mound, Max Steffens continues a phenomenal season as he holds an 8-0 record so far with seven complete games on the year. Steffens moved into first place all-time in innings pitched for a season with 83.1 innings during the 2019 season. 

The junior from DeWitt, Iowa also has the best ERA in the NSIC at 1.51. Sophomore Tanner Brown holds the second best ERA among starting pitchers for Augustana, posting a 2.55 ERA on the year with a 5-1 record. 

Scouting Winona State

Winona State enters the NSIC tournament as the number eight seed and have won eight of their last 11 games, with their last win being a 3-2 win over Minnesota State in the regular season finale. 

At the plate, Winona State has struck out the third fewest times in the NSIC, only striking out 294 times total. Sam Kohnle leads the Warriors in batting average, as he has hit .357 on the season with 11 doubles. Tanner Williams provides power for Winona State as he has knocked six home runs on the year with 27 RBI. 

On the mound, Dillon Whittaker has the best ERA among starting pitchers for the Warriors at 3.57 and has started in nine games on the season. He has also pitched three complete games with 63 innings pitched. Aaron Mutter holds a 4.12 ERA on the year with a 5-2 record for Winona State and three complete games. 

Tournament Information

Tickets for the NSIC Tournament are available at the stadium and cost $10 for adults, $5 for students, and an all-tournament pass can be purchased for $25.  

The winner of the NSIC Baseball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The NCAA Central Region is made up of 39 teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (15), the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) (12) and the Great American Conference (GAC) (12). 

Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis. The central region will have eight teams participate in two, 4-team regional sites on May 16-18 with the super region dates being May 24-25.  

The NCAA Division II Baseball Championships will take place on June 1-8 in Cary, North Carolina. The NCAA Division II Baseball Selection show will air via webcast at NCAA.com on Sunday, May 12 at 9 p.m. central time.