SIOUX FALLS, S.D.-- Augustana baseball opens NCAA Tournament Baseball this week in Warrensburg, Missouri, at the NCAA Central Regional Tournament. Central Missouri, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, is set to host at Crane Stadium at Tompkins Field. The trip to regionals is the fifth-consecutive for the Vikings. 

The Tournament
Augustana is the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will take on No. 4 seeded Ouachita Baptist on Thursday at 2 p.m. Central Missouri, the No. 1 seed, is set to play against St. Cloud State, the No. 8 seed, on Thursday at 6 p.m. 

The full bracket for the NCAA Central Regional can be found here. 

Scouting the Tigers
Ouachita Baptist completed the regular season with an overall record of 35-15. The Tigers went 2-2 at the GAC tournament, defeating Harding in the first round before falling to Oklahoma Baptist and Henderson State. At the plate, G. Allen, Wyatt Core and Michael Quinones have been impactful for the Tigers. Allen is hitting .385 and leads the lineup with 77 hits, 12 doubles, 12 home runs and is 12-of-12 on stolen base attempts. Core holds a batting average of .350 with 71 hits, 10 doubles and 38 RBI. Rounding out the trip is Quinones who is hitting .343 with 69 hits, 16 doubles and a slugging percentage of .572. On the mound, Teddy Webb  has made 16 starts and has an ERA of 3.63 with 63 strikeouts. Cooper Timmons leads the Tigers pitching staff with 117 strikeouts and has spent 90.1 innings on the hill. 

Scouting the Huskies
St. Cloud State found its way to the NCAA Central Regional after winning the NSIC Baseball tournament. The Huskies went 28-17 overall during the regular season before going 4-1 at the NSIC tournament. Sam Riola, John Nett and Ethan Navratil make up a group of heavy hitters for the Huskies. Riola is hitting .368 and has contributed 77 hits including 13 doubles and 14 home runs with 65 RBI. He is also 20-of-24 on stolen base attempts across 50 games. Nett leads the lineup with a batting average of .446 with 90 hits and 20 doubles. He has stolen 22 bases and follows Riola with  53 RBI.  Navratil is batting .292 and has totaled 42 hits and scored 35 runs for SCSU. Riola is tops on the pitching staff with 75 strikeouts and has spent a team-leading 57.1 innings on the hill. Drew Beier has appeared in 12 games while making seven starts and has an ERA of 2.96 with 42 strikeouts. Riley Ahern completes the trio having spent 51.2 innings on the bump with 42 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.65.  

Scouting the Mules
Central Missouri enters the NCAA Tournament with a 41-13 record and is coming off of a dominating MIAA tournament win. The Mules have been one of the most dominant teams at the plate this season. Through 54 games, Central Missouri is led at the plate by Carter Young, Mason Lowe, Vance Tobol and Jack Schark. Young has a .362 batting avg with 57 runs, 79 hits and 59 RBI. Lowe follows with a batting average of .346, 45 hits, six doubles and 31 runs. Tobol is hitting at a .360 avg and has scored 50 runs for the Mules. Schark completes the group with a .381 average, 67 hits, 12 doubles and 37 RBI. On the mound, UCM is led by Conner Wolf, Tyler  Kotsis and JD McReynolds. Wolf has a 3.76 ERA and a 10-3 record. Kotsis has a 2.33 ERA, and has spent 27.0 innings on the mound with 29 strikeouts. McReynolds has spent 29.1 innings on the mound with 46 strikeouts and a  0.61 ERA.

The Vikings
Augustana completed the regular season with an impressive 39-16 overall record in 2023 and a 28-7 NSIC record. The Vikings secured the NSIC regular season title by sweeping Winona State in their final series. At the NSIC tournament, AU fell short but were able to find their way back to the postseason with an at-large bid, claiming the fifth seed in the region.The team has managed to steal 144 bases this season, with Nick Banowetz leading the charge at 32-of-36 stolen base attempts. Trevor Winterstein follows at 31-of-34 and Jack Hines has successfully stolen 19 bases. The Vikings' batting lineup has been impressive, with Hines boasting the highest batting average at .361, along with 74 hits, 12 doubles, five triples, and 34 RBI. Drey Dirksen leads the team with 17 doubles, 14 home runs, and 53 RBI. Banowetz follows with 11 doubles and two triples, hitting at a .360 average. Winterstein has a batting average of .296, with 69 hits, seven doubles, four triples, seven home runs, and 40 RBI. On the mound, Seth Miller has amassed 82 strikeouts and a 9-1 record, while Caleb Saari has recorded 74 strikeouts with a 2.89 ERA and a 5-3 record. Caleb Kranz has pitched for 62.2 innings, striking out a team-leading 86 batters and has a 7-1 record. Adam Diedrich leads the Viking pitching staff with 12 saves this season, ranking first in the nation. 

The team saw six players named NSIC All-Conference, including five on the first team. In addition to the league-best five first-team selections, Augustana saw an All-Defensive Team honoree in Drey Dirksen. Banowetz, Diedrich, Dirksen, Miller and Saari earned NSIC First Team All-Conference honors while Hines was named to the All-Conference Second Team.

–GoAugie.com–