SIOUX FALLS, S.D.- The Augustana baseball team begins the 2024 season in Denver, Colo., with a four-game series against the Regis Rangers. The Vikings will begin play Friday night, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. CT

Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play. 

Rocky Mountain Rewind
This weekend will mark the first meeting between the programs all-time. AU is opening in the state of Colorado for just the second time in program history and first time since 2011. It will also be the second series that the Vikings have taken the field in the state of Colorado since 2018. A season ago, the Vikings swept Colorado Christian in four games in Lakewood, Colo. AU is 13-10 all-time in the state of Colorado and 11-4 in its last 15 games in the Centennial State. 

The Rangers
Regis is 6-5-1 on the year after winning three of four against Minot State over the weekend. The Rangers went 31-24 a season ago, reaching the RMAC Championship game before falling to Super Regional participant Colorado Mesa. RU is led by first-year head coach Patrick Jolley.

Adam Paniagua has delivered at the plate for the Rangers, carrying a .526 average and 1.647 OPS into the weekend over 12 starts. Paniagua has also slugged four of the seven RU home runs. Right behind him is Peter Goldy, who has hit .433 in 11 games. Wyatt Zsidsin leads the team with 15 innings pitched and holds a 5.40 ERA. Lucas Watson has thrown 8 2/3 innings and leads the team with 15 strikeouts. 

The Vikings
Augustana entered the 2024 season ranked No. 10 in the preseason edition of the NCBWA DII poll, but have since fallen out of the rankings without playing a game. The Vikings finished 47-21 overall and 28-7 in the NSIC a season ago, winning the NSIC regular season title and reaching the NCAA DII College World Series.

Head coach Tim Huber enters his 16th season at the helm for AU and holds an all-time record of 547-256-1. Huber is the reigning ABCA Region Coach of the Year and has led the Vikings to seven national tournament appearances, including the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship. Along with returning all 10 position players that started at least 30 games a year ago, the Vikings also return pitching depth with five arms that ranked in the top seven for innings pitched.

Caleb Saari was named the NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year while the Vikings were selected to win the NSIC Preseason Poll for 2023. Along with Saari's Pitcher of the Year accolade, Drey Dirksen was named as the Viking's Preseason Player to Watch. The Vikings received 185 points with five first place votes in the conference poll.

Saari was named All-NSIC first team and ABCA All-Region second team last season after making 14 starts and going 6-5 with a 2.98 ERA in 81 2/3 innings. He struck out 87 batters and allowed an opponents batting average of .220 with a 1.11 WHIP. He had two games with double-digit strikeouts, including a 14 strikeout performance in six innings against Emporia State. Saari also made three starts in the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by seven innings of one run ball against No. 4 Central Missouri. 

Dirksen was named as the Vikings' NSIC Preseason Player to Watch after earning All-NSIC First Team and All-Region honors last season. Dirksen was a steady presence in the AU lineup in 2023, batting .345 while leading the team with 17 doubles, 17 home runs and a 1.093 OPS in 67 games. The Spicer, Minn., native also spent some time on the mound, striking out nine in 7 1/3 innings.

Record Watch
Drey Dirksen has slugged 36 home runs in his Viking career, fifth most in program history. He sits 13 home runs away from the program record, held by Nate Baumann (49, 2008-11). Dirksen also ranks seventh in program history with a .636 career slugging percentage. Behind the dish, Dirksen is just as stellar, ranking fifth in program history with 25 runners caught stealing. 

Jack Hines has been an on-base machine entering his third season, ranking 10th with a .456 career OBP. He also ranks third with 31 times hit by pitch and in a tie for sixth with eight triples.

Trevor Winterstein is tied for 10th in program history with 42 stolen bases entering his junior season. 

Also climbing the career record books is Adam Diedrich, who ranks third all-time with 16 saves, eight away from the record held by Bret Severtson (24, 2008-11). Diedrich also ranks ninth with a .205 opponent batting average.

Caleb Kranz is second in program history with a 12.69 K/9 rate and seventh with 189 career strikeouts. Tied for eighth on the career strikeout list is Caleb Saari, who has struck out 178 batters. 

One Last Thing
This is the latest that the Vikings have played in a season opener since 2021, and latest in a non-COVID altering season opener since 2012.