SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The No. 14 Augustana baseball team begins its final road stretch of the season with a three-game set against Minnesota State. The top two teams in the NSIC standings will play a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon starting at 1:30 p.m. After an off day on Sunday due to expected rain, the teams will reconvene for a single game on Monday at 3 p.m.

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. 

Hines Breaks Single-Season Home Run Record
On Wednesday afternoon, Jack Hines homered on the first pitch he saw to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The home run was the 18th of his 2024 season, breaking the program record for single season home runs. He now has 19 on the season, second most in the country. 

Series History
The Vikings have won six of their last eight meetings with the Mavericks dating back to the 2022 Central Regional. It will be the first time the teams have met since AU bounced back to win in three games at the 2023 NCAA Super Regional at Ronken Field. 

The Mavericks
Minnesota State is 28-14 overall and 23-8 in the NSIC after taking a pair from Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday. Matt Magers is 615-202 in his 16th season at the helm for MSU. 

Aidan Byrne leads the team with a .414 batting average and18 stolen bases at the top of the Maverick lineup. Ryan Wickman ranks second on the team with a .340 average and 10 home runs. The Mavericks are 12th in the country and second in the NSIC with 9.6 runs per game. 

Louis Magers is a two-way weapon for the Mavericks, batting .300 and leading the way with 12 home runs and 47 RBI. On the mound, Magers is 3-1 with a  4.23 ERA and has struck out 30 batters in 38 1/3 innings. 

Mitch Gutknecht is 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA and has struck out 42 to lead the staff, and Spencer Wright has a 5.28 ERA in 12 appearances with 37 strikeouts. The team touts a 5.57 team ERA. 

The Vikings
Augustana is 35-6 overall and 26-4 in NSIC play after a sweep over Southwest Minnesota State. The 0.854 win percentage is the third best mark in the country. AU is on a program record 18 game win streak, the longest current streak in the country. The Vikings are ninth in the country with 9.7 runs per game. Tim Huber is 582-262-1 in 16 seasons as the head coach of the Vikings.

The Arms
The pitching staff for Augustana have been dominant, leading DII with 10 shutouts,12.2 K/9, 1.18 WHIP, and 3.64 K/BB rates. They also rank third with 7.24 H/9, and ninth in ERA at 3.69.

Ashton Michek and Caleb Saari have been at the head of a staff that ranks among the nations best. Michek has a 2.15 ERA (13th in NCAA) with 68 strikeouts in 54 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 2.84 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 19 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 2.00 ERA and .183 opponents batting average with 60 strikeouts in 36 innings, and J.D. Hennen has also shined in his first season of extended work, striking out 55 in 39 innings while allowing an opponents batting average of .200. 

True freshman Will Henry has also been impressive in relief, holding a 1.65 ERA and 0.67 WHIP while striking out 27 in 16 1/3 innings. Kai Taylor and Tom Sun have been lethal out of the bullpen as well, combining for 32 strikeouts in 27 innings while allowing a .150 and .214 opponents batting average, respectively. 

The Bats
Jack Hines has been the best offensive player in the country this season, batting a league-high .451 with a 1.435 OPS, program record 19 home runs, 69 RBI, and 60 runs scored while adding 13 steals. 

In NSIC action, the numbers get even better. In 30 games against NSIC foes, Hines is hitting .459 with a 1.527 OPS, knocking out 16 of his 19 home runs and driving in 55 of his RBI against the conference. He also has 114 total bases, 18 more than the next highest total. 

Nationally, Hines leads the country in slugging percentage (.941), is second in RBI per game (1.68), second in home runs (19), second in home runs per game (0.46), fourth in RBI (69), fourth in total bases (144), sixth in runs per game (1.46), and seventh in batting average (.451). He is the only player in the country to rank in the top 10 for each statistic. 

Also asserting himself atop the league with power numbers is Drey Dirksen. After a slow stretch, he has caught fire. He ranks just behind Hines in the conference with a .833 slugging percentage (11th nationally), 1.321 OPS, and is second with 16 home runs. In NSIC only games, he ranks second with a 1.334 OPS, second with an .859 slugging percentage, and 16 home runs. The senior catcher is 13th in the country with .39 home runs per game and 16th in home runs while slashing .341/.488/.833.

Max Mosser is second on the team with a .378 batting average (31 for 82) and is third on the team with a .488 on-base percentage. Behind them is Luke Ballweg, whose eight home runs and 1.182 OPS  are all good for third on the team, and his .337 average ranks fourth. Parker Mooney has been a key contributor with a .314 average, 1.084 OPS, eight home runs, and 29 RBI. 

Jason Axelberg is batting .321 with four home runs and 26 RBI in 37 games and 20 starts. Joe Kolbeck has provided a spark in 38 games this season, hitting .324 with 28 RBI, 37 runs scored, nine stolen bases, and a 1.025 OPS. 

Nick Banowetz is hitting .325 with a team-high 17 stolen bases, and Tate Meiners is hitting .303 1.079 OPS and eight home runs. 

As a team, AU ranks fourth in the country with a .590 slugging percentage, third in home runs per game with 1.83, 27th with a .437 on base percentage, 26th with a .327 batting average, and 42nd with 1.98 steals per game.

16 AU hitters have recorded multi-hit games, led by 21 from Hines. He has now recorded a hit in 36 of 41 games to open the season, and has reached base in 40 of 41 games. 

Number 50
On April 13 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 caught fire to elevate the Viking offense, going on a hot streak that helped get him in position to reach the milestone. Dirksen hit .517 (18 for 38) with eight home runs and 17 RBI in over the course of 12 games. The Vikings were 12-0 and averaged 9.2 runs per game over that stretch.