SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The No. 17 Augustana baseball team heads into a weekend series between two of the top offenses in the NSIC, hosting Concordia-St. Paul for a three-game set at Ronken Field. First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 1:30 p.m., while Sunday's single game is scheduled for noon.

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. 

Series History
The Vikings are 38-5 against Concordia-St. Paul and are 16-3 in Sioux Falls. Their most recent meeting came in late April of 2023 when Caleb Saari threw four shutout innings and struck out seven in a 9-3 AU victory. 

The Golden Bears
Concordia-St. Paul is 21-15 overall and 13-14 in the NSIC after splitting with Winona State on Thursday. Neil Lerner is 77-100 in his fifth season at the helm for CSP. 

Nick Thimsen is batting .426 and holds a 1.280 OPS with 10 home runs and 47 RBI to lead the Golden Bears. Bennett McCollow follows with a .409 average and a .515 on base percentage. The Golden Bears average 8.5 runs per game, third most in the NSIC. 

Korey Dahlberg has a 5.36 ERA in a team-high 45 1/3 innings. He also leads the team with 33 strikeouts. Eric Lundell has a 3.10 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 29 innings out of the bullpen. CSP touts a team ERA of 6.77. 

The Vikings
Augustana is 30-6 overall and 21-4 in NSIC play after a sweep over Wayne State and a win over Dakota Wesleyan. AU is on a 13 game win-streak, third longest in program history and two behind the record set by the 2015 club. The Vikings are 20th in the country with 9.3 runs per game. Tim Huber is 577-266-1 in 16 seasons as the head coach of the Vikings.

The Arms
The pitching staff for Augustana have been dominant, leading the NCAA with 10 shutouts and leading DII with 12.4K/9 and 3.60 K/BB rates. They also rank second with a 1.19 WHIP, third with 7.30 H/9, and ninth in ERA at 3.72.

Ashton Michek and Caleb Saari have been at the head of a staff that ranks among the nations best. Michek has a 2.28 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings, and Saari holds a 3.44 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 49 2/3  innings of action. He has 59 strikeouts and has allowed an opponents batting average of .210. Freshman Riley Rothschadl has a 2.30 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings of work. 

Opening the season out of the 'pen and cementing a spot in the rotation, Mariano Gomez has been electric. Gomez has a 1.74 ERA and .179 opponents batting average with 53 strikeouts in 31 innings, and J.D. Hennen has also shined in his first season of extended work, striking out 48 in 33 innings while allowing an opponents batting average of .210. True freshman Will Henry has also been impressive in relief, holding an 0.79 ERA and 0.62 WHIP while striking out 18 in 11 1/3 innings. 

The Bats
Jack Hines has been the best offensive player in the NSIC this season, batting .433 with a league-high 1.373 OPS, 15 home runs, 60 RBI, and 51 runs scored while adding 11 steals. 

In NSIC action, the numbers get even better. In 25 games against NSIC foes, Hines is hitting .435 with a 1.454 OPS, knocking out 12 of his 15 home runs and driving in 46 of his RBI against the conference. He also has 90 total bases, eight more than the next highest total. 

Nationally, Hines is first in the country in RBI per game (1.69), second in slugging percentage (.896), tied for fifth in RBI (60), ninth in home runs per game (0.41), ninth in runs per game (1.45), and tied for 11th in home runs (15).

Also asserting himself atop the league with power numbers is Dirk Dirksen. After a slow stretch, he has caught fire. He ranks just behind Hines in the conference with a .820 slugging percentage (15th nationally), 1.303 OPS, and is tied for second with 14 home runs. In NSIC only games, he ranks third with a 1.309 OPS, second with an .844 slugging percentage, and 10 home runs. The senior catcher is 11th in the country with .40 home runs per game and 17th in home runs while slashing .333/.483/.820.

Max Mosser is second on the team with a .384 batting average (28 for 73) and a .489 on-base percentage. Behind them is Luke Ballweg, whose .342 average, six home runs, and 1.153 OPS  are all good for third on the team. Parker Mooney has been a key contributor with a .309 average, 1.023 OPS, five home runs, and 23 RBI. 

Jason Axelberg is batting .301 with three home runs and 22 RBI in 32 games and 20 starts. Joe Kolbeck has provided a spark in 30 games this season, hitting .310 with 20 RBI, 31 runs scored, seven stolen bases, and a 1.022 OPS. 

Nick Banowetz is hitting .302 with a team-high 16 stolen bases, and Trevor Winterstein is up to .297 with 15 stolen bases. 

As a team, AU ranks  sixth in the country with a .566 slugging percentage, ninth in home runs per game with 1.61, 32nd with a .434 on base percentage, 43rd with a .318 batting average, and 48th with 1.94 steals per game.

16 AU hitters have recorded multi-hit games, led by 18 from Hines. He has now recorded a hit in 28 of 33 games to open the season, and has reached base in 35 of 36 games. 

Number 50
On Saturday afternoon in the second game of a doubleheader at Winona State, Drey Dirksen broke the program record with his 50th career home run. The home run put him ahead of Nate Baumann's record of 49 that had stood since 2011. For more on Dirksen's record-breaking path, visit HERE.

Dirksen has caught fire to elevate the Viking offense, going on a hot streak that helped get him in position to reach the milestone. Dirksen has hit .517 (18 for 38) with eight home runs and 17 RBI in his last 12 games. The Vikings are 12-0 and averaging 9.2 runs per game over that stretch.