Saturday, March 19
Sioux Falls, S.D.
1:00 p.m. CT
St. Cloud State
at
Augustana
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
St. Cloud State Baseball Opens NSIC play at Augustana
3/18/2022 6:17:00 PM | Baseball
Huskies and Viking play twinbill on Saturday, series finale on Sunday
ST. CLOUD, MN – St. Cloud State Baseball (8-6, 0-0 NSIC) travels to Sioux Falls, S.D., this weekend for a three-game weekend series against (RV) Augustana (10-3-1). The Huskies will open conference play with a 10-game road trip before their first home game at Joe Faber Field in April. They'll open the series this weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday with start times of 1:00 p.m. CT and 3:30 p.m. CT, with the finale at 12:00 p.m. CT on Sunday to wrap up the weekend.
The Huskies and Vikings have met 41 times with SCSU holding the advantage at 21-20. Augie has won three out of the last four meetings, which have all been played at Ronken Field. The last matchup was in the 2021 NSIC Championships where the Vikings won 8-2.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State currently sits fourth in the NSIC standings after their three road trips to start the year. The Huskies are playing their best baseball of the season so far after winning five out of six games in Florida last week Much of that success can be traced to the starting rotation hitting its stride after a bumpy start. Husky opponents last week were held under three runs in five of the games with notable starts from redshirt freshman Luke Tupy (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 K's), redshirt junior Riley Ahern (8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K's), and senior Trevor Koenig (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, 9 K's).
Offensively, St. Cloud is led by second baseman Sam Riola (.418/.536/.855, 23 R, 7 HR, 15 RBI, 16 SB), right fielder Paul Steffensen (.377/.468/.585, 10 R, 5 2B, 11 RBI), and catcher Drew Bulson (.340/.397/520, 5 R, 4 2B, 13 RBI). Riola is currently top-10 in batting average and leading the NSIC in runs scored (23) and stolen bases (16). The Huskies combined for 42 runs in the sunshine state and scored at least five runs in every game.
The weekend starters will consist of Ahern (2-1, 2 GS, 4.30 ERA, 16.0 IP, .241 BAA, 18:4 K:BB), Tupy (1-0, 3 GS, 2.63 ERA, 13.2 IP, .278 BAA, 26:4 K:BB), and Koenig (1-1, 3 GS, 6.91 ERA, 14.1 IP, .268 BAA, 17:4 K:BB), who are all coming off their best starts of the year last time out. The bullpen was not overtaxed last week so the Huskies will fresh arms for the weekend that has compiled a team era of 5.98 this season.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Augustana was picked to finish second in the preseason NSIC Coaches' Poll and is off to another fast start this season. The Vikings have picked up wins against good non-conference opponents such as Arkansas Monticello and #3 Central Missouri as they get set to host their first NSIC series of the year.
Their lineup may not have a lot of power, but they can produce with some of the best teams in the country. Led by NSIC preseason player to watch Carter Howell (.391/.467/.696, 14, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 6 SB) and Jordan Barth (.368/.410/.456, 9 R, 3 2B, 3B, 9 RBI, 3 SB) the Vikings have a ton of depth in their lineup and will try to use that to their advantage this weekend.
On the mound is where the Vikings really shine, Caleb Saari (0-0, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 1.42 ERA, .294 BAA, 18:1 K:BB) has been impressive in his two starts this season and leads the team in strikeouts. Opening day starter Tanner Brown (1-0, 2 GS, 17.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, .254 BAA, 16:1 K:BB) is a work horse and leads the teams in innings pitched early this season. Augustana currently ranks as the best team in the NSIC with a 3.41 team ERA. The Huskies will have their hands full with a pitching staff that has given them fits in recent years.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The series will be broadcast on the NSIC Network with Live Stats provided by Augustana. You can also listen to the game on the KVSC Sports Stream.
The Huskies and Vikings have met 41 times with SCSU holding the advantage at 21-20. Augie has won three out of the last four meetings, which have all been played at Ronken Field. The last matchup was in the 2021 NSIC Championships where the Vikings won 8-2.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State currently sits fourth in the NSIC standings after their three road trips to start the year. The Huskies are playing their best baseball of the season so far after winning five out of six games in Florida last week Much of that success can be traced to the starting rotation hitting its stride after a bumpy start. Husky opponents last week were held under three runs in five of the games with notable starts from redshirt freshman Luke Tupy (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 K's), redshirt junior Riley Ahern (8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K's), and senior Trevor Koenig (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, 9 K's).
Offensively, St. Cloud is led by second baseman Sam Riola (.418/.536/.855, 23 R, 7 HR, 15 RBI, 16 SB), right fielder Paul Steffensen (.377/.468/.585, 10 R, 5 2B, 11 RBI), and catcher Drew Bulson (.340/.397/520, 5 R, 4 2B, 13 RBI). Riola is currently top-10 in batting average and leading the NSIC in runs scored (23) and stolen bases (16). The Huskies combined for 42 runs in the sunshine state and scored at least five runs in every game.
The weekend starters will consist of Ahern (2-1, 2 GS, 4.30 ERA, 16.0 IP, .241 BAA, 18:4 K:BB), Tupy (1-0, 3 GS, 2.63 ERA, 13.2 IP, .278 BAA, 26:4 K:BB), and Koenig (1-1, 3 GS, 6.91 ERA, 14.1 IP, .268 BAA, 17:4 K:BB), who are all coming off their best starts of the year last time out. The bullpen was not overtaxed last week so the Huskies will fresh arms for the weekend that has compiled a team era of 5.98 this season.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Augustana was picked to finish second in the preseason NSIC Coaches' Poll and is off to another fast start this season. The Vikings have picked up wins against good non-conference opponents such as Arkansas Monticello and #3 Central Missouri as they get set to host their first NSIC series of the year.
Their lineup may not have a lot of power, but they can produce with some of the best teams in the country. Led by NSIC preseason player to watch Carter Howell (.391/.467/.696, 14, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 6 SB) and Jordan Barth (.368/.410/.456, 9 R, 3 2B, 3B, 9 RBI, 3 SB) the Vikings have a ton of depth in their lineup and will try to use that to their advantage this weekend.
On the mound is where the Vikings really shine, Caleb Saari (0-0, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 1.42 ERA, .294 BAA, 18:1 K:BB) has been impressive in his two starts this season and leads the team in strikeouts. Opening day starter Tanner Brown (1-0, 2 GS, 17.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, .254 BAA, 16:1 K:BB) is a work horse and leads the teams in innings pitched early this season. Augustana currently ranks as the best team in the NSIC with a 3.41 team ERA. The Huskies will have their hands full with a pitching staff that has given them fits in recent years.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The series will be broadcast on the NSIC Network with Live Stats provided by Augustana. You can also listen to the game on the KVSC Sports Stream.
Players Mentioned
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