SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - For the fifth time in six seasons, the No. 13 Augustana baseball team will be playing postseason baseball in Warrensburg, Missouri. The Vikings will take on No. 22 Central Missouri yet again, this time in the NCAA Super Regional. The best-of-three series begins at 5 p.m., on Thursday before a 5 p.m., first pitch on Friday. The "if necessary" game will take place at 1 p.m., on Saturday as the two teams play for a region title and a spot in the NCAA DII College World Series. 

Ticket prices for the NCAA Division II Baseball Super Regional are as follows: 
Adult Daily Pass – $7
Participant Team Students/Seniors – $5 
17 and under – 4 
Tickets can be purchased through the Central Missouri Athletics Ticket Office, or on their ticketing website HERE

You can find full bracket and tournament information HERE.

How They Got Here
The Vikings gutted through a tough draw, winning three consecutive elimination games to take the Central Region 1 tournament. The Vikings earned three ranked victories, including wins in back-to-back days over the host and No. 3-ranked Pittsburg State. 

Jake Lundquist carried the offense through long stretches of the weekend, finishing 11 for 19 with two home runs, two doubles, nine RBI and a 1.636 OPS. Drew Ball turned in the best outing among starters after six one-run innings in the first elimination game against Arkansas Tech. Brandon Weigel also went 5 for 6 in the winner-take-all game on Sunday and finished the weekend 10 for 22 with four doubles, two home runs and a 1.429 OPS. 

Central Missouri took a different route, dominating three games to cruise through the Claremore pod. The Mules outscored opponents 20-5 in three games, including two wins over host Rogers State. They started the run with a 3-0 victory over Minnesota State before wins of 9-2 and 8-3 over the Hillcats.

Series History
The Vikings have faced Central Missouri 11 times in their history, with the Mules leading 6-5. Of course, the total numbers don't do this matchup justice as 10 matchups have come since 2018, and nine have occurred in postseason formats. The Mules won both meetings in 2024 on their way to the College World Series and the Vikings won twice in the Warrensburg regional in 2023, eventually reaching the College World Series themselves. 

They faced off three times in 2022, once in an AU victory at Minute Maid Park in Houston in February and split two games in the 2022 Regional that saw Augustana advance to the supers. UCM won both meetings in the 2019 Super Regional in Sioux Falls and Augustana won in the 2018 regional on their way to a National Championship. 

The Vikings
Augustana is 45-14 overall and went 30-7 in NSIC play. The Vikings won the NSIC Tournament title and have won 17 of 19 games entering the week. The 45 victories is the fifth most in program history. They also have a .763 win percentage, the 13th-best mark in the country. Tim Huber is 678-296-1 in 18 seasons as the head coach of the Vikings.

The Arms
NSIC Pitcher of the Year Mariano Gomez is 8-0 with a 4.11 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings while allowing a .211 opponent's batting average. He ranks 16th in the country with 11.65 strikeouts per nine innings.

He powers a staff that ranks first in the country with a 10.0 K/9 rate and ranks seventh nationally allowing just 8.1 hits per nine innings. All-NSIC Second Team selection Ethan Hoffman is 6-3 with a 4.57 ERA while striking out 70 in 65 innings. He has allowed three runs or less in 9 of 13 starts this season and has walked 24. 

Drew Ball has become a mainstay in the rotation for the first time in his career. His 3.67 ERA is second on the team among arms with at least 40 innings pitched and has struck out 55 in 54 innings. He has allowed an opponent's batting average of .225 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 three 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. In the winner-take-all game against the Gorillas, his stat line did not do him justice as he limited hard contact and allowed five hits and four runs in five innings against one of the best offenses in the country to move to 5-1 on the season. 

Sophomore Josiah Petersen has been one of the more reliable arms out of the bullpen this season. Petersen has a 4.54 ERA and 1.40 WHIP while holding a 4-0 record in 15 appearances, including a pair of starts. He has held opponents to a .203 batting average and tallied 41 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings.

Ryan Clementi has also provided 40 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, including 7 1/3 innings this past weekend. The senior has a 3.57 ERA while touting a 1.14 WHIP and .213 opponents batting average. He is 4-0 on the year and has been efficient in the zone, allowing just 14 walks while striking out 31. 

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 eight saves on the season and 28 in his career while striking out 24 in 24 2/3 innings this year. He has a 3.28 ERA and 1.34 WHIP while opponents hit .236 off of him. 

Another backend option for the Vikings has been Jadon Bast. The sophomore has allowed just five earned runs this season in 17 innings with 18 strikeouts. He has given up just two earned runs in his last 9 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 broke out in the NSIC Tournament. The NSIC Tournament MVP is hitting .344 with 19 doubles, 11 home runs and 57 RBI while scoring 72 runs. The shortstop has a 1.035 OPS and has 25 stolen bases without getting caught, the second 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 and he added a pair of home runs in the regional. 

Continuing to emerge as an offensive threat is Jake Lundquist. The junior is now hitting .325 with a 1.044 OPS while primarily being behind the plate. He had 11 hits over five NCAA Tournament starts and has 10 home runs on the season, including a pair of tie-breaking grand slams. 

Brandon Weigel also had a dominant NCAA Regional and is now hitting .337 with a 1.041 OPS. He has the program record for sac bunts in a season with 11 and leads the team with a .496 on-base percentage. 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. In the final game of the regional, Weigel had five hits, three RBI and three runs scored while racking up three doubles and a home run. 

Ragan Pinnow has been consistent in the middle of the order, hitting a team-best .357 with seven home runs and 56 RBI. The senior has a 1.014 OPS and 16 doubles while adding five sac flies. He was named to the NSIC All-Tournament team after opening the tournament with a seven RBI game and finished the four-game stretch with a 1.230 OPS.

All-Region First Team selection Troy Berg has been a power source for the offense, tying for second on the team with 10 home runs while recording a 1.030 OPS and has the most stolen bases without being caught in program history with 27. He has spent time at third base and in right field while hitting .322 and driving in 57 to go with 70 runs scored. 

Carter Heinsch was also named All-NSIC First Team after a dominant sophomore season. The outfielder hit .344 with a 1.005 OPS while shuffling in the order. He has seven home runs and is tied for a team-high with 57RBI and has scored 58 times with 22 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 is hitting .337. He has a 1.012 OPS and has 14 doubles to go with seven home runs and 40 RBI. He has a .448 on-base percentage and was on the NSIC All-Tournament team after recording three multi-hit games. He capped the NCAA Regional with a three-run blast in the winner-take-all game. 


The highlight of the NSIC 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 .318 on the season with 35 RBI and 28 runs scored. He has a hit in 10 of his last 15 games, including four hits and four RBI against Sioux Falls on April 26. 

As a team, AU ranks fifth in the country with 142 doubles, eighth with 21 triples, 12th in runs scored with 529, 17th with 139 stolen bases, 26th with a .520 slugging percentage and 33rd with a .323 batting average.

The Mules
Central Missouri is 37-15 overall and went 24-12 in the MIAA, going one-and-done in the MIAA Tournament before a dominant regional run. Kyle Crookes is 483-162 in his 12th season as head coach and reached the National Championship last season. 

Chase Wilcox has a .363 batting average in 45 games played. He has scored 39 runs and stole 19 bases this season while being named to the All-MIAA Third Team. Shortstop Cole Kreisel was the lone Mule position player on the second team, touting a .313 average and 1.010 OPS with five home runs and 29 RBI while stealing 19 bases. 

The heart of the Mules is their pitching staff, led by All-Region First Team selection Sawyer Allen. He is 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA and 0.95 WHIP while striking out 73 in 73 1/3 innings. He has a .192 opponent batting average and has allowed three earned runs or less in all 14 starts. Greyson Chappel received All-MIAA Second Team honors and is 2-2 on the mound while compiling a 2.34 ERA in 12 starts.