SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The No. 14 Augustana baseball team takes on Northern State to close out its regular season road schedule on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 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.

Northern Sun Standings
The Vikings lead Minnesota State by 1.5 games for first place in the NSIC with AU having five games remaining and MSU having three more games on the schedule. The magic number for the Vikings is three, meaning they need a combination of three wins or Maverick losses to win the NSIC regular season title. 

Series History
The Vikings are 56-9 all-time against Northern State and 18-1 in Aberdeen. AU has won five of the last seven in the series, including a 13-12 victory that saw the Vikings score five in the final frame en route to a split. 

The Wolves
Northern State is 18-26 overall and 13-21 in the NSIC after a split against Wayne State last weekend. Dean Berry has coached 19 seasons, including 14 with the Wolves. He is 348-435 in his career and 252-337 as head coach of NSU. 

Brennan Phillips is batting .380 with a 1.021 OPS in 43 games while slotting into the middle of the NSU lineup. Penciled in behind him is Karson Hesser who has a team-high 15 doubles while hitting .368. As a team, the Wolves average 6.5 runs per game. 

Lined up for midweek outings are Drew Burkholder and Brenden Baxter. Burkholder is 3-2 with a 6.65 ERA in 14 appearances and eight starts while primarily serving as a weekend starter. Baxter is 0-3 with a 8.56 ERA and has made two midweek starts in consecutive weeks. 

The Vikings
Augustana is 36-8 overall and 27-6 in NSIC play after a Monday victory over Minnesota State. The 0.818 win percentage is the sixth best mark in the country. AU just wrapped up a program record 18 game win streak and are 18th in the country with 9.2 runs per game. Tim Huber is 583-264-1 in 16 seasons as the head coach of the Vikings.

Caleb Saari threw eight shutout innings and struck out nine on his way to his third NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors, announced by the conference Tuesday afternoon. 

The Arms
The pitching staff for Augustana have been dominant, leading DII with 11 shutouts,12.1 K/9 and 3.60 K/BB rates. They also rank third with a 1.21 WHIP, 7.57 H/9, and 12th in ERA at 3.94.

Ashton Michek and Caleb Saari have been at the head of a staff that ranks among the nations best. Michek has a 2.58 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings while limiting opponents to a .210 average, and Saari holds a 2.97 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 57 2/3 innings of action. He has 68 strikeouts and has allowed an opponents batting average of .218. 

The have provided the most feared 1-2 punch in league games with Michek leading the conference in strikeouts (63), ranking second in ERA (2.85) and opponents batting average (.199) and Saari ranking first in opponents batting average (.195), second in strikeouts (62) and fourth in ERA (2.89). The pair have five conference wins apiece and have five complete games combined.

Opening the season out of the 'pen and cementing a spot in the rotation, Mariano Gomez has been electric. Gomez has a 2.85 ERA and .219 opponents batting average with 64 strikeouts in 41 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. Freshman Riley Rothschadl has a 2.84 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 19 innings of work. 

True freshman Will Henry has also been impressive in relief, holding a 3.12 ERA and 0.87 WHIP while striking out 28 in 17 1/3 innings. Kai Taylor and Tom Sun have been lethal out of the bullpen as well, combining for 33 strikeouts in 28 innings while Taylor holds an opponents batting average of .163.

The Bats
Jack Hines has been the best offensive player in the country this season, batting a league-high .427 with a 1.372 OPS, program record 20 home runs, 71 RBI, and 62 runs scored while adding 13 steals. 

In NSIC action, the numbers get even better. In 33 games against NSIC foes, Hines is hitting .426 with a 1.434 OPS, knocking out 17 of his 20 home runs and driving in 57 of his RBI against the conference. He also has 118 total bases, 13 more than the next highest total. 

Nationally, Hines is tied for first with 20 home runs, second with a .902 slugging percentage, second with .45 home runs per game, third with 1.61 RBI per game, fifth with 71 RBI and sixth with 148 total bases. 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 third in the conference with a .787 slugging percentage (21st nationally), third with a 1.256 OPS, and is second with 16 home runs. In NSIC only games, he ranks third with a 1.244 OPS, second with a .794 slugging percentage, and 12 home runs. The senior catcher is 22nd in the country with .36 home runs per game and 23rd in home runs while slashing .324/.469/.787.

Max Mosser is second on the team with a .378 batting average (34 for 90) and is third on the team with a .477 on-base percentage. Behind them is Luke Ballweg, whose 1.105 OPS is good for third on the team and his .337 average and eight home runs ranks fourth. Parker Mooney has been a key contributor with a .300 average, 1.050 OPS, eight home runs, and 29 RBI. 

Jason Axelberg is batting .314 with five home runs and 27 RBI in 40 games and 23 starts. Joe Kolbeck has provided a spark in 41 games this season, hitting .316 with 29 RBI, 38 runs scored, nine stolen bases, and a 1.004 OPS. 

Nick Banowetz is hitting .307 with a team-high 18 stolen bases, and Tate Meiners is hitting .299 with 1.074 OPS and nine home runs. 

As a team, AU ranks seventh in the country with a .570 slugging percentage, fifth in home runs per game with 1.77, 41st with a .426 on base percentage, 47th with a .316 batting average, and 49th with 1.86 steals per game.

16 AU hitters have recorded multi-hit games, led by 21 from Hines. He has now recorded a hit in 37 games, and has reached base in 41 of 43 games. 

Hines Breaks Single-Season Home Run Record
On April 24, 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. 

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.