SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Augustana baseball team returns to Karras Park home of Ronken Field this weekend for a three-game series against the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul. The Vikings come into the matchup at 18-6 overall and 14-6 within the NSIC. 

The Games
Baseball starts at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday with a doubleheader and concludes Sunday with game three's start time slated for noon. In compliance with Augustana's COVID-19 protocols, attendance for the games will be open to the public with a limited capacity. 

All spectators must wear a mask unless actively eating or drinking. In addition, fans are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to help support physical distancing. The full spectator policy can be found here. 

As always, live video and live stats will be provided on GoAugie.com/Live.

The Golden Bears
Picked to finish eighth in the NSIC, Concordia-St. Paul comes into its matchup with Augustana at 11-14 overall and 7-12 within the NSIC. The Golden Bears started the season by taking three-of-four games from Purdue Northwest and Minnesota Duluth. 

After a 6-2 start, Concordia-St. Paul was swept by UMary and Northern State, dropped one to St. Cloud, split with Minot State and dropped two-of-three to SMSU and three-of-four to Minnesota Crookston. Most recently, the Golden Bears swept Bemidji State in a doubleheader. 

The Vikings
Speed on the basepaths, strikeouts on the mound and a juggernaut offense has been the winning formula for the Vikings thus far and the national statistics show it. 

On the basepaths, the Vikings rank third in all of Division II in stolen bases with 69 on the season. Sophomore outfielder Carter Howell, senior outfielder Riley Johnson and senior shortstop Sam Baier lead the base stealing attack, all with double digit totals. Juniors Jordan Barth, JT Mix and Jaxon Rosencranz also own five-or-more steals on the season. 

On the mound, Augustana ranks third nationally in strikeouts per nine innings with 12.6. Overall, the Vikings have struck out 265 opposing hitters in 24 games. Senior lefty Koby Bishop leads the strikeouts charge with 43.

Sophomore righty Ryan Jares (41), junior lefty Tanner Brown (35) and freshman righty Caleb Kranz (30) round out the Vikings with 30-or-more strikeouts. Five more Augustana arms also have double-digit strikeout totals. 

At the plate, Augustana ranks 18th in Division II in batting average with a .333 mark thus far. Howell, Johnson, Baier, Barth and senior infielder Christian Kuzemka all have averages above .365, 10-or-more extra-base hits and 20-or-more RBIs. 

Howell leads the conference in batting average, runs scored, hits and OBP%. 

Player to Watch
Not to be lost in the plethora of talent the Vikings have, senior righty Max Steffens is the still reigning NSIC Pitcher of the Year and NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. With Steffens expected to start game three, Sunday becomes must watch baseball for Augustana baseball fans.

One Last Thing
The Vikings are 29-5 in the all-time series with the Golden Bears. Augustana has won 11 of the last 12 matchups, three of which have been one-run wins.