The Augustana baseball team will begin the 2010 season this weekend against Rockhurst University. The Vikings will play a double-header at 5 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn. at the Metrodome.
Augustana, under second-year head coach
Tim Huber returns 21 letterwinners from a team that went 27-23 overall and finished sixth in the NSIC with a 17-14 league record. The Vikings return 5 position starters, including junior outfielder
Nate Baumann junior infielder
Drew Heithoff junior outfielder
Gates Cook, junior infielder
Charlie Dubanoski and senior infielder
Dan Morrison.
Heithoff, Baumann and Cook are sure to lead the Viking offense, as they posted the three best batting averages on the team last season. Cook led the team in batting average, boasting a .351 average in 97 at bats. He also recorded 17 RBIs. Heithoff batted .343 for the 2009 season, with 34 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Baumann led the team in homeruns with 14 and RBIs with 46. He also recorded 12 stolen bases and was named to the 2010 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Second Team. Dubanoski and Morrison had batting averages of .316 and .242, respectively.
Four starting pitchers will also return for the Vikings. Junior
Tyler Pierson led the starters with a 5.07 ERA and 42 strikeouts. Junior
Kenny Lidke (56.1 innings pitched), junior
Ezra Campbell (35.2 innings pitched), and senior Per Nestigen (43.1 innings pitched) also return. In addition, junior closer
Bret Severtson returns after setting the Augustana and NSIC record for saves in a season last spring, leading the team with a 2.81 ERA, and being named to the 2010 NCBWA Preseason All-America Third Team.
The Vikings will also have new faces expected to contribute immediately. Augie picked up two transfers: junior infielder / catcher
Deryk Marks comes to the Vikings after two seasons at Iowa Central Community College, and junior catcher
Nate Alfson (currently injured) joins the team after one-season stints at Ridgewater Community College and Mesabi Range Community College.
The team also brings in 15 true freshmen, at least three of which are expected to make an impact on the team right away.
Nate Hewes, from Stillwater, Minn. is expected to start at short stop while
Grant Larson of Eagan, Minn. and
Tyson Gau of Alexandria, Minn. will be key members of the pitching staff
Augustana was also picked sixth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, amassing a total of 106 points to hold down the No. 6 spot in a tight vote. The Vikings were only 14 points out of third place.
Rockhurst will already have two games under its belt, as the team plays fellow NSIC member Bemidji State on Saturday in a double-header at the Metrodome. The Hawks put together a record of 35-23 in 2009 and made the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament but were eliminated in the first round
The Vikings will then have 11-straight road games, traveling to Golden, Colo., Springfield, Mo., and Winterhaven, Fla. Augie will have its home opener on Mar. 20 with a double-header against Concordia-St. Paul, beginning at 1 p.m. at Ronken Field.
