WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The NSIC Champion Augustana baseball team saw its season come to a close Saturday against No. 2 Central Missouri in the NCAA Central Regional Pod 1 final. The Mules won 13-2 to capture a spot in the super regional. 

Augustana concludes its season with a 47-10 record, the second best win percentage and tying the second-most wins in program history. Their 18 game win-streak in the middle of the season also stands as the longest in program history. They also won their fourth NSIC regular season title and fourth NSIC Tournament title. It was the second time in program history they were able to do both in the same season. 

As a team, the 2024 bunch earned the most regular season wins in program history, had the highest slugging percentage, scored the most runs, and tied the program record for single-season home runs. They were plunked more than any team, the staff had the most strikeouts per nine innings, and they tied the program record for pickoffs in a single season.

Individually, Jack Hines closes, possibly, the best individual season in program history. He now holds single-season records in slugging percentage, home runs, RBI, and total bases. Drey Dirksen finishes his career as the program's all-time leader in home runs, is second to Hines in single-season home runs and owns three of the top seven single-season home run marks. He also holds the record for walks in a season. Ashton Michek also broke the program record for pickoffs in a season in 2024. 

Eight seniors took the field for their final time as Vikings. Jack Hines, Max Mosser, Luke Ballweg, Tate Meiners, Drey Dirksen, Maddux Baggs, Spencer Marenco and Caleb Kranz. The other two AU seniors, Caleb Saari and Nick Banowetz, each had strong performances earlier in the tournament for what would be their final game. 

Ballweg had a pair of doubles while Hines, Meiners, Mosser and Ryan Clementi each had a hit. Ballweg and Hines ended up reaching base three times each while Mosser reached twice. J.D. Hennen allowed five runs in three innings while moving to a 6-1 record on the season. 

The Mules scored two runs in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth, four in the fifth, and one in the sixth to take a 10-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Meiners reached base with a single and Ballweg clubbed a double to the right center gap, bringing in Meiners for their first run of the game. The Mules scored three more runs and the final Vikings run came on a wild pitch that scored Ballweg.