SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- It's a best-of-three series in the first round of the NSIC Tournament and the No. 19-ranked Augustana baseball team hosts the Warriors of Winona State at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field. The winner of the series will move on to the second round of the NSIC Tournament, a four-team double-elimination tournament. 

The Games
Game one is set for Thursday at 6 p.m. with game two set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. If necessary, game three will take place approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two. All games will be scheduled for nine innings. 

The ticket policy implemented by the NSIC for the NSIC baseball tournament is $10 for adults, $5 for students and free for ages five-and-under. 

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. In addition, live video and live stats will be provided on GoAugie.com/Live. 

The Warriors 
Winona State, projected to finish 6th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, finished its regular season with a 22-18 overall and 19-16 conference record, earning them the No. 7 seed in the tournament. 

Senior Sam Kohnle started all 40 games for the Warriors this season and led them at the plate with a .366 batting average, 52 hits, 12 doubles and 32 RBIs. Junior Derek Baumgartner led the squad in homers with five. On the mound, sophomore Cameron Kramer led the Warriors with a 2.87 ERA, 4-1 record and 37 strikeouts. 

The Vikings
Augustana comes into its NSIC Tournament matchup with Winona State with an overall record of 31-9 and NSIC record of 27-9. Nationally, the Vikings are ranked No. 19 and are one of eight schools listed in the region rankings. Six teams will earn their way into the regional, the three winners of the conference tournaments and three automatic bids. 

When sophomore righty Ryan Jares logged his second strikeout of the day in his outing against Upper Iowa last weekend, he notched the 400th strikeout of the season for Augustana, a feat that had only been achieved three times in program history. 

In total, through 40 games, the Vikings have struck out 426 opposing hitters. In comparison, the 2019 team struck out 449 and the 2017 team team struck out 499. Those teams, however, accomplished the feat in 59 games. The 2018 national champion team tops the list with 559 strikeouts in 61 games. 

With the NSIC Tournament and possible regional games on the horizon, the 2021 Augustana pitching staff is shaping up to be the most prolific strikeout team in Viking history. 

Offensively, Augustana ranks second in the country in stolen bases with 109 and 31st in batting average with a .320 clip. Within the NSIC, the Vikings lead in runs, hits, doubles, homers, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage and stolen bases. 

Sophomore outfielder Carter Howell leads the NSIC in runs scored, hits and stolen bases while junior infielder Jordan Barth is second in hits and leads the conference in RBIs. Howell, senior infielder Christian Kuzemka and junior catcher Will Olson join Barth on the top-ten list for RBIs as well. Olson and Barth also own top of the top-four home run totals with 12 and 10, respectively. 

2021 Series
Augustana took two-of-three from the Warriors in the regular season in Winona, Minnesota. In game one, Barth hit a go-ahead two-run homer with the Vikings down to their final two outs. After a loss in game two, Max Steffens tossed 8.2 innings in game three and earned the win in the 6-4 contest.