SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Augustana baseball is back where they belong.
The Vikings knocked off Minnesota State 6-4 on Saturday afternoon to earn their fifth tournament title in program history. It also marks the third time in program history that the team won both the NSIC regular season and NSIC tournament title, joining the 2024 and 2019 teams as the only three to do it.
With the win, Augustana has earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They will find out their destination and opponent on Sunday night at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.
NSIC Defensive Player of the Year
Kobe Eikmeier earned Tournament MVP honors after going 9 for 17 with three doubles, a triple and three home runs while making virtually every play imaginable on defense. He would go 1 for 4 with a home run in the championship game and turned four double plays to lead the way.
Nate Soelter added two hits and two RBI while scoring a run and
Maddox Foss added two hits and a walk in the nine-hole while
Bjorn Lind had a hit and scored a run ahead of him.
Joel Van De Stroet tied the longest outing of the season for the Vikings, going seven innings and starting the eighth while allowing six hits and two runs while striking out a pair.
Ryan Clementi allowed a hit and got an out and
Adam Diedrich sent down the final five hitters.
Eikmeier, Soelter and Van De Stroet were named to the NSIC All-Tournament team and were joined by
Troy Berg and
Ragan Pinnow, who each drew walks in the game.
In the first inning, Van De Stroet sent the Mavericks down in order and Brnadon Weigel scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the inning to give AU a 1-0 lead. That lead vanished on one swing of the bat in the second as a solo blast from MSU evened the score at 1-1.
The Vikings marched back in the bottom of the frame to reclaim the lead.
Bjorn Lind and
Maddox Foss singled with one out to get runners on the corners. Weigel followed with an RBI single before a two-run double from
Nate Soelter grew the lead to 4-1.
The top of the third inning began a string of four straight innings where the Vikings recorded a double play to keep the Mavericks behind. During that stretch, the Vikings would add another run in the fourth inning on a two-out error to grow the lead to 5-1.
Following a double play in the sixth inning, MSU got three on to form its largest threat of the game to that point. Van De Stroet dialed in, collecting a strikeout to strand the runners and keep the lead at four runs.
In the top of the eighth, MSU saw the first three hitters reach and scored a run to narrow its deficit to three runs. Clementi would force a flyout and Diedrich entered after, picking up a strikeout and fielder's choice to end the threat. Eikmeier sent an exclamation point over the left field fence in the bottom of the frame to make the lead 6-2. The Mavericks would score a pair in the bottom of the inning but their comeback fell short as Diedrich forced a flyout to end the game.
