SIOUX FALLS, S.D.--The Augustana baseball team is set to face the Minot State Beavers in a doubleheader on Thursday and St. Cloud State Huskies in a three-game series on Friday and Saturday. The Vikings are slated to play the Beavers at 6 p.m. in Elkhorn, Nebraska, at Legion Field. 

The Vikings and Huskies are set to tangle in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the campus of Iowa Western. Friday's single game is at 6:30 p.m. while Saturday's doubleheader is at 3:30 p.m. 

Live stats and live video will be available at GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app. The app is available in the app store and Google Play.

Scouting the Beavers
Minot State opened NSIC action with a series win over Sioux Falls last weekend. The Beavers are 12-3 overall in 2023 and 3-0 in NSIC action. Gunnar Kozlowitz leads the Beavers with 28 hits, nine doubles and a batting average of .452. Brent Riddle has totaled 26 RBI and five home runs. Minot State has logged 189 hits and scored 162 runs in 15 games this season as a team. On the mound, Bryant Bagshaw is 4-0 for the Beavers in 2023. Bagshaw has struck out 23 batters, has an ERA of 1.57 and a WHIP of .96. Dominick Parkhurst has tossed 11.1 innings, appearing in three games. Parkhurst's ERA is 3.18 and he holds a record of 3-0.

Scouting the Huskies
St. Cloud State is 8-7 overall this season and plans to open NSIC play against Southwest Minnesota State prior to matching up against the Vikings. Two-time NSIC player of the week John Nett's .483 batting average is tops on the team and he has made all 15 starts for the Huskies this season. Nett has totaled 28 hits, eight doubles, one triple, three home runs and 20 RBI.  Sam Riola and Sawyer Smith have logged 19 RBI apiece. Riola leads the SCSU pitching staff having thrown 16.0 innings. He has a record of 1-1 and tops the team with 22 strikeouts. Riley Ahern and Jack Habeck follow Riola with a combined 29.1 innings pitched and 31 strikeouts. The pitching staff has accumulated 124 strikeouts this season.

The Vikings
Augustana holds a record of 14-9 overall this season and opened conference action 3-0. AU started NSIC action against Southwest Minnesota State earlier this week, earning the sweep in the first conference series of the season. Jack Hines, Drey Dirksen, Trevor Winterstein and Nick Banowetz make up a quartet of Augustana's heavy-hitters. Hines is hitting .364 with 24 hits, two doubles, two home runs and nine RBI. Dirksen is the Viking leader with 45 total bases and holds a batting average of .347 with 25 hits and 17 RBI. Winterstein tops Augustana's lineup with 30 hits and 19 RBI and is 10-of-11 on stolen base attempts.  Banowetz rounds out the quartet with a .317 batting average, 19 hits, five doubles and six RBI. On the hill, Caleb Saari has been stellar this season, tossing 34.1 innings and owning a 3-1 record with 43 strikeouts. Seth Miller has thrown 31.1 innings and struck out 35 batters. The Vikings have totaled 226 strikeouts and just 8- walks in 23 games this season.

–GoAugie.com–