SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The No. 17 Augustana baseball team opens play in Pittsburg, Kansas, at the NCAA Central Regional Tournament on Thursday. No. 3 Pittsburg State is the No. 1 seed in the tournament and is set to host at Al Ortolani Field. The trip to regionals is the seventh in eight seasons for the Vikings. 

Ticket prices for the NCAA Division II Baseball Regional are as follows: 
Adult Daily Pass – $10 
Student/Youth Daily Pass – $5 
Children ages 5 and under – Free 
Tournament passes may also be available for purchase at the gate. Tickets can be purchased through the Pittsburg State Athletics Ticket Office.

Spectators may park in the lots surrounding the complex. Teams are encouraged to arrive early each day to allow for traffic around campus and other university activities.

You can find full bracket and tournament information HERE.

The Tournament 
The Vikings received the No. 5 seed in the region and will take on fourth-seeded Northwest Missouri State on Thursday, May 14 at 6 p.m. The Gorillas are set to play Arkansas Tech, the No. 8 seed, on Thursday at 3 p.m. In the other pod, No. 2 seed, Rogers State, plays host to No. 3 Central Missouri, No. 6 Minnesota State and No. 7 Missouri Southern State. The final team standing in each pod will match up in a best-of-3 super regional next weekend. The region is one of the toughest in the country as six of the eight teams are ranked in the ABCA Top 30, the second most ranked teams among the eight regionals. 

ABCA Top 30
1.    Colorado Mesa
2.    Tampa 
3.    Pittsburg State
4.    North Greenville 
5.    Catawba 
6.    Texas-Tyler
7.    Grand Valley State 
8.    Point Loma
9.    West Florida
10.    Bentley
11.    Rollins
12.    West Chester
13.    Seton Hill 
14.    North Georgia    
15.    Francis Marion
16.    Angelo State
17.    Augustana 
18.    Rogers State 
19.    Minnesota State 
20.    Cal State Monterey Bay
21.    Wingate
22.    Young Harris
23.    Lee
24.    Molloy 
25.    Southern New Hampshire
26.    Belmont Abbey
27.    West Alabama    
28.    Lenoir-Rhyne
29.    Northwest Missouri State
T30.    Wayne State University 
T30.    Central Missouri

NSIC Tournament Rewind
The Vikings enter the NCAA Tournament after cruising to an NSIC Tournament title. AU went 4-0 and outscored opponents 46-21. The Vikings took charge early and often, outscoring teams 40-10 in innings 1 through 5. It is the fifth tournament championship and just the third time the team has won the regular season and tournament championship in the same season in program history. 

Five Vikings made the All-Tournament team as Kobe Eikmeier (Tournament MVP, 1.909 OPS, 9 RBI), Joel Van De Stroet (7 IP, 2 runs in NSIC title game), Nate Soelter (7 runs scored, 1.088 OPS), Troy Berg (1.177 OPS, 5 RBI) and Ragan Pinnow (1.230 OPS, 7 RBI) each earned honors. 

Series History
The Vikings will deal with unfamiliarity this weekend. Thursday will mark the 12th time in program history and first since 2009 that AU and Northwest Missouri State will face off. The teams split a four-game set that season. AU took four of the first five matchups, three in 1992 and two in 2000, and Northwest won a pair in 2002. 

Pittsburg State and Augustana have played five games against each other and just once since 2002. The Vikings earned a 9-4 victory in 2018 on their way to a National Championship and lost the four prior meetings, three in 1999 and one in 2002. 

Augustana has played Arkansas Tech 14 times and are 3-11 all-time. They have dropped six straight, one in 2002, four in 2015 and one in 2014. The Vikings won two of three in 2009 and were 1-4 from 2005-2007. 

The Vikings
Augustana is 41-13 overall and went 30-7 in NSIC play. The Vikings won the NSIC Tournament title and have won 13 of 14 games entering the tournament. The 41 victories is tied for the sixth most in program history. They also have a .759 win percentage, the 14th-best mark in the country. Tim Huber is 674-295-1 in 18 seasons as the head coach of the Vikings.

The Arms
NSIC Pitcher of the Year Mariano Gomez is 8-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings while allowing a .187 opponent's batting average. He ranks sixth in the country with 5.88 hits allowed per nine innings and 16th with 11.61 strikeouts per nine innings.

He powers a staff that ranks first in the country with a 10.4 K/9 rate and ranks fourth nationally allowing just 7.7 hits per nine innings. All-NSIC Second Team selection Ethan Hoffman  is 6-2 with a 4.50 ERA while striking out 66 in 58 innings. He has allowed three runs or less in 9 of 12 starts this season and has walked 22. 

Drew Ball has become a mainstay in the rotation for the first time in his career. His 3.94 ERA is second on the team among arms with at least 40 innings pitched and has struck out 50 in 48 innings. He has allowed an opponent's batting average of .228 and had a 10-strikeout game earlier this season. 

Another name that has been locked into the starting rotation is Joel Van De Stroet, who enters the weekend following two of the best outings of his career. The sophomore earned the win in the NSIC title game after going seven innings and pitching into the eighth while allowing just two runs. In his final regular season start, Van De Stroet threw five hitless innings with 10 strikeouts on his way to NSIC Pitcher of the week honors. 

Sophomore Josiah Petersen has been one of the more reliable arms out of the bullpen this season. Petersen has a 3.82 ERA and 1.15 WHIP while holding a 4-0 record in 13 appearances, including a pair of starts. He has held opponents to a .159 batting average, the third lowest average in program history, and tallied 37 strikeouts in 33 innings.

Ryan Clementi has also provided 33 innings out of the bullpen. The senior also has a 3.82 ERA while touting a 1.06 WHIP and .197 opponents batting average. He is 3-0 on the year and has been efficient in the zone, allowing just 11 walks while striking out 28. 

During the regular season, Adam Diedrich became the program's all-time saves leader and has been a dominant arm at the backend of the bullpen. The senior has seven saves on the season and 27 in his career while striking out 22 in 19 1/3 innings this year. He has a 3.26 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while opponents hit .221 off of him. 

Another backend option for the Vikings has been Jadon Bast. The sophomore has allowed just four earned runs this season in 16 innings with 18 strikeouts. He has given up just one earned run in his last 8 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts. 

The Bats
Kobe Eikmeier earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and All-NSIC Second Team honors during the regular season and enters the tournament on the heels of a breakout NSIC Tournament. The NSIC Tournament MVP is hitting .358 with 19 doubles, nine home runs and 51 RBI while scoring 66 runs. The shortstop has a 1.050 OPS and has 23 stolen bases without getting caught, tied for the most in program history. In the NSIC Tournament, Eikmeier went 9 for 17 with a 1.909 OPS and 9 RBI to go with seven extra base hits, including three home runs, and seven runs scored. 

Ragan Pinnow has been consistent in the middle of the order, hitting a team-best .374 with seven home runs and 53 RBI. The senior has a 1.057 OPS and 16 doubles while adding five sac flies. He was named to the All-Tournament team after opening the tournament with a seven RBI game and finished the four-game stretch with a 1.230 OPS.

All-NSIC First Team selection Troy Berg has been the power source for the offense, leading the team with 10 home runs while recording a 1.014 OPS and tying Eikmeier for the program-record of 23 stolen bases without being caught. He has spent time at third base and in right field while hitting .310 and driving in 51 to go with 63 runs scored. 

Carter Heinsch was also named All-NSIC First Team after a dominant sophomore season. The outfielder hit .358 with a 1.064 OPS while spending much of the season in the three-hole. He has seven home runs and a team-high 55 RBI while scoring 56 times and stealing 21 bases. He also has 21 doubles, tied for 10th in the country, and is second in program history with 41 walks drawn. 

Nate Soelter was named to the All-NSIC Second Team and ranks second on the team with a .362. He leads a group of five hitters on the team with an OPS over 1.000, slotting in with a 1.078. He has 13 doubles and six home runs with 35 RBI and a .481 on-base percentage. He also earned a spot on the All-Tournament team after  recording three multi-hit games, including two hits and two RBI in the championship game. 

Brandon Weigel has hit .321 and has a .987 OPS in a season that saw him break the program record for sac bunts in a season with 11. He leads the team with a .493 on-base percentage and has scored 54 runs. He also had a team-high 30 game on-base streak to open the season and has reached base in all but three games, two of which he did not start in. 

The highlight of the tournament may have come off the bat of Bjorn Lind, who lifted a three-run blast with one out in the bottom of the eighth to lead AU to a 10-9 win over Minnesota State to reach the final. The sophomore is hitting .335 on the season with 32 RBI and 27 runs scored. He has a hit in eight of his last 10 games, including four hits and four RBI against Sioux Falls on April 26. 

Emerging as an offensive threat is Jake Lundquist. The junior is hitting .288 with a .960 OPS while primarily being behind the plate. He had five hits over four NSIC Tournament starts and has eight home runs on the season, including a pair of tie-breaking grand slams. 

As a team, AU ranks seventh in the country with 133 doubles, ninth with 20 triples, 19th in runs scored with 488, 20th with 129 stolen bases, 23rd with a .525 slugging percentage and 28th with a .327 batting average.

The Bearcats
Northwest Missouri State is 36-16 overall and went 25-11 in the MIAA after going 1-1 in its postseason tournament. Tony Jandron is 63-41 in his second season as head coach and leads the Bearcats into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. 

Frank Gall has a .362 batting average in 52 games played. He scored 74 runs and stole a team-high 25 bases this season while being named to the All-MIAA Second Team. Jeremiah Cabuyaban was the lone Bearcat on the first team, touting a .341 average and 1.212 OPS with 17 home runs and 52 RBI while scoring 56 runs and adding 15 doubles. 

Ben Haug was a Second Team All-MIAA selection after recording a 5-2 record with a 4.86 earned run average in 13 starts. Haug struck out a team-high 78 batters and collected two saves. Haug was a two-time MIAA Pitcher of the Week and tossed a one-hit shutout of Northeastern State on April 18. In MIAA games, Haug made 10 starts and went 4-2 with a 4.12 ERA and 65 strikeouts.

The Gorillas
Pittsburg State is ranked No. 3 nationally and is 43-9 overall and went 27-9 in the MIAA on its way to regular season and tournament championships. Brock Buckingham is in his first season at the helm. 

Dagan Brewer was voted the Player of the Year in the MIAA after hitting .436 with a ridiculous 1.541 OPS and 24 home runs while breaking the MIAA conference record with 101 RBI. He has added 21 doubles and scored 80 runs while walking 57 times to just 28 strikeouts. The Gorillas are second in the country with a .358 team batting average and first with a .480 on-base percentage. 

Zach Voss was an All-MIAA Second Team honoree and leads the pitching staff. Voss has posted a 11-2 record with a 3.99 ERA in 14 starts for the Gorillas this season. The graduate student from Iberia, Mo., has a 1.17 WHIP and he's issued just 17 walks while registering 50 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. He ranks second in the MIAA and sixth nationally in victories.

The Wonder Boys
Arkansas Tech is 35-20 overall and went 23-10 in the GAC on their way to a second place finish in the GAC before winning a tournament championship and an autobid. Dave Dawson is 517-355 in 17 seasons at ATU. 

Kirby Jenkins was named to the All-GAC First Team after slashing .349/.481/.645 with 11 home runs and 59 RBI. The Wonder Boys also had three of their four infielders earn All-Defensive team honors and are 17th in the country with a .974 fielding percentage. 

Creighton Jacobitz has evolved into a top-line starter for ATU. The lefty was an All-GAC First Team selection after posting a 3.42 ERA and 7-4 record while striking out 71 in 81 2/3 innings. Eric Woodley was also a first team reliever after tallying 11 saves and a 1.82 ERA in 18 appearances.