Viking Baseball Takes On No. 14 Minnesota State in Mid-Week Doubleheader

4/27/2021 1:54:00 PM

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- After winning a three-game series against Winona State last weekend, the Augustana baseball team faces its first ranked opponent of the year Wednesday afternoon in No. 14 Minnesota State in Mankato, Minnesota, at Bowyer Field. The matchup features the top-two teams in the NSIC standings.

The Games
The doubleheader starts at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon with game two's start time approximately 20 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Live video and live stats will be available for both games on GoAugie.com/Live.

The Mavericks
Picked to finish second in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Mavericks come into their matchup with Augustana at 25-4 overall and 21-3 within the NSIC which puts them at the top of the conference. Minnesota State is also riding an eight-game winning streak and have only conceded losses to Minot State (two) and St. Cloud State (one) in NSIC play.

Senior Joey Werner leads the Mavericks at the plate with a .427 batting average, 26 runs scored, 41 hits, six doubles, one triple, eight homers, 36 RBIs and 12 steals. On the mound, senior Jon Ludwig leads Minnesota State with a 6-1 record, 1.91 ERA, 47 innings pitched and 74 strikeouts.

The Vikings
Augustana comes into the mid-week series with the Mavericks at 24-8 overall and 20-8 within the NSIC, placing them second in the standings. The Vikings took down the Warriors of Winona State last weekend in a three-game series and used some heroics from a couple of their star players.

Junior NSIC Preseason Player of the Year Jordan Barth came to the plate in game one of the series, with the Vikings trailing by one and two outs away from a loss. Barth then sent a towering two-run homer to right-center propelling the Vikings to a one-run lead and eventual game one victory. Barth now has eight homers this season, is hitting .373 and is getting hot at the right time for the Vikings.

After a loss in game two of the series, senior NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Max Steffens took the mound for Augustana in game three and delivered a gritty performance. The senior threw 8.2 innings (117 pitches in total) and scattered 11 hits and four runs (three of which were earned) while striking out nine and earning the victory for the Vikings. Steffens is now 6-0 on the season with a 1.70 ERA and 38 strikeouts.

The Mavericks won't see Steffens on Wednesday, but will likely face two of the Vikings' biggest strikeouts threats in sophomore righty Ryan Jares and senior lefty Koby Bishop. Jares leads the squad with 57 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched and has a 2.41 ERA and 3-1 record. Bishop owns 48 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched and has a 2.34 ERA and a 5-1 record.

The Mavericks, however, will be seeing Barth and the rest of the Viking offense that leads the conference in most offensive categories. Including Barth, Augustana has six hitters with a batting average above .310, 10-plus extra-base hits and 20-plus RBIs with the other five being Sam Baier, Riley Johnson, Christian Kuzemka, Carter Howell and Will Olson.

Player to Watch
Freshman infielder Max Mosser has been a great lefty bat for Augustana this season in his limited action. Mosser earned three starts last weekend against Winona State and hit .400, bumping his season average up to .371.

One Last Thing
Current Augustana assistant baseball coach Dean Bowyer coached 32 seasons at Minnesota State and won 980 games with three College World Series appearances at the helm of the Mavericks baseball program. Minnesota State named its field after Bowyer in the spring of 2017.

-- GoAugie.com --

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