SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (16-24, 13-17 NSIC, 8th), will look to extend a two-game winning streak as the Cougars face city rival Augustana (30-15, 24-6 NSIC, 2nd) in a doubleheader on Thursday, April 27 at 3 p.m. at Karras Park, home of Bowden Field. USF is tied for eighth in the NSIC with Winona State. Augustana is second in the NSIC, three games behind league leader Minnesota State. The top eight teams qualify for the NSIC postseason tournament.

Due to a rainy forecast on Wednesday, the two schools have agreed to move the games to Thursday with a 3 p.m. start.

USF-Augie will play for points in Mayor's Cup Challenge
USF and Augustana will compete for a point in the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge, a head-to-head competition in 16 common, equally weighted sports at each school with each victory earning points towards the overall series championship. The Mayor's Cup Challenge also recognizes academic success and community engagement. As part of the Mayor's Cup, fans can participate and contribute and make a difference for their school in this challenge. Both schools will take donations of new socks to be donated to Samaritan's Feet as fans can drop off the socks prior to Thursday. For more information on the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge, visit SFmayorscup.com.

USF hitting .313 as a team, second in the NSIC
Led by first year head coach Grant Hieb, USF now stands 16-24 overall and 13-17 in the NSIC. Last Wednesday, the Cougars recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 10 years in a road sweep (5-0, 14-0) against the University of Mary. Senior Zak Wallner tossed his first career shutout, allowing just six hits in the opener, a 5-0 decision. In the second game, sophomore Dan Johnson recorded the third shutout of his career with a two-hit blanking of the Marauders in a seven-inning game ended by run rule. The two victories by USF snapped a seven-game losing skein.

Wallner (2-1) and Johnson (3-2) recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since USF defeated Doane, 4-0, 7-0 in 2007. In total the two pitchers combined to allow just eight hits across 14 innings with 11 strikeouts and six walks.

On Sunday, USF had its best day on offense all-season while matching it with two strong pitching performances. The Cougars, which had a season-best 10-run inning in the game one victory, hit a sizzling .471 as a team with 32 hits in 68 at bats and 31 runs, which is a season best in consecutive games.  Leading the way for USF was sophomore first baseman Josh Rehwaldt, who had five hits in 10 at bats with five RBI and a stolen base. Cole Sweeney had four hits in seven at bats, including his first career home run in the 20-2 game one win. Matthew Minnick had three hits and five RBI while Noah Durkin, Rob Johnson, and Connor Merriam also had three hits.
 
Dylan Gavin also had a big day for USF with three hits in five at bats in game one when he started at third base. In game two, Gavin (1-2), who was 8-1 a year ago, recorded his first win of the season with a complete game four-hitter as USF took an 11-1 victory. In fact, he was the back half of a solid day on the mound. Wallner threw a complete game victory in the 20-2 game one victory. Wallner tossed his second straight complete game victory. In fact, USF has had four complete games in the past six played.
 
Gavin and Wallner combined for a 1.93 ERA and allowed just nine hits and three earned runs in 14 innings against UIU on Sunday. They had four strikeouts and walked six batters. UIU hit just .184 against Gavin and Wallner combined.
 
Through 40 games this season, USF, which has four walk off wins and eight over a two-year period, is hitting .313 as a team, which ranks second in the league. The Cougars have 400 hits (3rd, NSIC), 263 runs (4th, NSIC) and 99 extra base hits. The Cougars have pilfered 75 bases, which ranks second in the league. They have a .396 OBP which is second in the league.  Over the past six games, USF has scored a combined 60 runs, or 10 per game.
 
Augustana is second in the NSIC standings
Augustana, which sits second in the league, has won eight straight games, including a sweep over Concordia St. Paul last week. The Vikings, led by head coach Tim Huber, has won 12-of-16. The Vikings rank fourth in the league in hitting at .303 and have the second most home runs with 45. Led by Jacob Blank, who is 9-0 with a 0.36 ERA, the Vikings have a 3.42 ERA for second in the league. They have 393 strikeouts in 350 innings. Patrick O'Donnell is the league's top hitter at .415 with nine home runs and 16 stolen bases. Kris Ashland, who was the NSIC POW this week, has a league-best 15 home runs and 48 RBI and is hitting .385 for third in the league.
 
Cougars hitting .325 with runners in scoring position
USF is .hitting .337 (157-of-466) with runners in scoring position and have converted at a .652 rate (90-of-138) with runners on third and less than two outs. In advancing runners, the Cougars have been successful in 397-of-754 occasions for .527.  USF has 78 two-out RBI, including 15 in the Upper Iowa series. The Cougars are batting .333 (226-of-679) with runners on and 25-of-72 for .347 with bases loaded. They was six of 11 in bases loaded situations against UIU. USF is hitting .303 (73-of-241) against left handers and .315 (327-of-1,038) against right handed pitchers. The Cougars are hitting .274 (113-of-412) with two outs and .309 (158-of-512) with bases empty.
 
Numbers to Ponder - Eight USF batters hitting over .300
USF has been outscored, 276-to-263 this year with its most productive inning in the fifth (51-35). The Cougars have eight players hitting .300 or better, including Austin Richey and Josh Rehwaldt, who are tied for the team lead at .377. USF has a 41-32 run margin in the first inning and a 35-29 advantage in the third frame but has been hurt in the sixth where opponents have a 46-25 margin. When USF leads after six innings, they are 13-2 but 1-21 when trailing after six innings. The one win after trailing through six innings was the eight-run explosion when they rallied from down 6-5 for a 13-6 win on the road at Bemidji State on April 2. When USF scores first, they are 12-10 but 2-11 when the opponent scores first. The Cougars are 15-3 when they outhit their opponent. When USF scores 10 runs or more they are 7-4.  USF is 6-4 in one-run games but 1-7 in games decided by two runs. The Cougars are 12-19 vs. right handers, 4-5 against left-handed starters, 1-5 in night games and 15-19 in day games. When USF scores in the first inning, they are 7-6.

Breaking down Coo hitting crew –
Josh Rehwaldt ranks in NSIC top 10 in four categories -- In six games last week, Rehwaldt had 11 hits in 24 at bats for a .458 batting average. He hit two doubles, home run, triple, and scored nine runs with 11 RBI in leading USF to a 4-2 record. Rehwaldt, a sophomore first baseman who has reached base in 23 straight games, is hitting .377 on the season which ranks seventh in the NSIC and his 43 RBI is fourth in the league with his 58 hits tied for second in the NSIC. He has 13 doubles for fifth in the NSIC.
He has a .578 slugging percentage, which leads USF and his .434 OBP ranks third on USF. Rehwaldt, who has a team-high 89 total bases and nine stolen bases in 10 attempts. He has 22 multi-hit games, and 12 multi-RBI games.  In 90 career games, he has 84 RBI, 140 hits, 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts, 43 multi-hit games and 22 multi-RBI games. Plus, he has 13 games with three or more hits and nine games with three of more RBI.
 
Gunner Peterson ranks second in hitting for USF – Petersen, who hit his first career grand slam and just his second HR of his career in a win over Bemidji State, his hitting .346, which is third on the team. Peterson, who has a .415 slugging pct., and .388 OBP, has 21 RBI. He executed a walk-off squeeze in a 7-6 win over Winona State. In that game, the senior shortstop had two bunt singles as he continues to utilize his bat control in creating opportunities for USF. In 164 career games, Peterson has 84 runs, 137 hits, 73 RBI, 155 stolen bases and 36 multi-hit games. 

Rob Johnson's team-high 18 steals leads NSIC - In 37 games junior centerfielder Rob Johnson is now hitting .344, raising his average five points in the past four games. He ranks fourth on the team in hitting and first on the team and in the league with 18 steals in just 19 attempts. He has 42 hits and 30 runs. Overall, Johnson has a .525 slugging mark and .428 OBP.  He has three home runs this season and seven in his career. Johnson has two triples and seven in his career. He has 40 multi-hit games in 88 starts with 10 multi-RBI games, and 28 steals in 35 attempts in his career at USF.

Brent Jarvis continues to pound ball – Brent Jarvis is hitting .313 with a .478 slugging pct., and .439 OBP. He has three home runs and 11 multi-hit games - fourth on USF - and is the only USF player with six hits in a game as he was 6-of-6 against Nebraska-Kearney.   In 129 starts (132 overall games), Jarvis has nine home runs, 72 RBI, 135 hits, 31 steals in 37 attempts, 37 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games.

Minnick knocks in six RBI vs UIU; has 24 on season  -- Matthew Minnick, who has two walk off hits this year, hit his first home run of the season – 16th in his career – to tie the game in USF's 7-6 walk off win over Winona State. After knocking in six RBI vs. Upper Iowa, he now has 24 RBI this year with 102 in his career. He has 11 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games.  In 130 career starts, Minnick has 154 hits, 102 runs, 42 multi-hit games, and 25 multi-RBI games. With four hits in a game against Minot State, he has eight games with four of more hits and 15 games with at least three hits. 

Crow has made 149 career starts -- Outfielder Trevor Crow is hitting .309, with a .445 slugging mark and .358 OBP. He has 34 hits, 24 runs with three home runs and 16 RBI. Crow has nine multi-hit games, including a team-best six three-hit games. In his 149 starts and 159 total games, he has collected 152 hits, six home runs, 74 RBI and 80 scored runs.

Merriam started 100 straight games at catcher - junior catcher Connor Merriam, who is hitting .279, started his 100th game in game one win over U-Mary (5-0) before sitting out game two. He then started all four games against Upper Iowa as he now has started in 104 of the last 105 USF games. He has hit a team-high five home runs this season. He hit two long balls in a 15-13 loss to SCSU on March 19. Merriam has a .467 slugging percentage. With four RBI against UIU, he now has 21 RBIs and a .350 OBP while owning a .984 fielding percentage. Merriam started and caught the final 11 games as a freshman in 2015, all 54 games a year ago, and 35 straight games to open the 2017 season, for a run of 100 straight games. He has started 39 of 40 games by USF this year and 125 of 129 games in his career with 11 home runs and 66 RBI.   
 
Durkin has 53 multi-hit games in career – With 21 walks this season, senior outfielder Noah Durkin ranks in the league's top 10. He is hitting .269 in 38 games with a .374 OBP. Durkin had four RBI vs. Upper Iowa and has 14 on the year and also picked up another steal as he now has 11 stolen bases in 13 attempts.  In his career, Durkin has played in 179 games with 177 starts. 197 hits, 75 RBI and four home runs. He has stolen 30 bases in 46 attempts. In addition, he has 55 multi-hit games, including nine this season.
 
Richey has moved batting average up to .377 – After going 7-of-14 with three RBI against Upper Iowa, senior Austin Richey has jumped his batting average to .377, a jump of 37 points over the weekend. He has a .541 slugging percentage on the season with a .506 OBP. He has home run and 15 RBI in 25 games this season.
  
Mound Assessment
USF ranks 15th in the NSIC with an overall 7.14 ERA, while registering 172 strikeouts and 192 walks in 301.1 innings
 
Johnson hurls 2nd shutout of season – Sophomore Dan Johnson (3-2) owns a team-best 2.87 ERA with 11 appearances, including six starts. In his most recent start, Johnson recorded his second career shutout by going seven innings and allowing just two hits in 14-0 win over U-Mary. Over his past 14 2/3 innings, he has allowed just one earned run and seven hits while registering 11 strikeouts against six walks. At SMSU on March 29, Johnson and Mitchell Lyell combined on a seven-inning four-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory. Johnson allowed just five hits across five innings while registering five strikeouts.  In 37 2/3 innings, Johnson has allowed just one home run and 12 earned runs with 24 strikeouts and 22 walks. 

Wallner has had good run of mound success -- Senior Zak Wallner has been solid as a starter with a 3-1 record and 4.17 ERA, lowering the mark .21 by allowing just two runs over his last two starts, both victories. On Wednesday against U-Mary, he tossed his first career shutout, allowing just six hits across seven innings of a 5-0 win over U-Mary. On Sunday, he tossed another seven inning complete game, allowing just five hits and two runs to Upper Iowa in the 20-2 decision. He had a strong effort in a losing cause to #21 Minnesota State, falling 2-1 as he worked six innings and allowed just four hits while recording a strikeout and a walk. Wallner also had a standout effort in a 6-1 win over Minnesota Crookston when he went seven innings, allowing four hits and no earned runs with a career-high eight strikeouts. Overall he has worked 58 1/3 innings, allowing 58 hits and 27 earned runs. He has made eight starts with 12 appearances, recording 37 strikeouts to 27 walks. He has pitched at least five innings seven times this season. He ranks in the top 10 in the league with a team-high four complete games.
 
Miller has worked at least five innings in six straight starts -- Zachary Miller, who has a 2-4 record and 8.10 ERA, has had a series of strong starts, making nine appearances with eight starts. He also has a save for USF. Miller has two seven inning complete games and worked five innings or more in six straight starts. In his most recent start, he allowed seven hits and five runs over six innings and three strikeouts. He also picked off a runner against UIU in a 6-1 loss. 
                                                          
Relief core breakdown --Chris Thompson (2-2, 10.20 ERA) has made 12 appearances while Mitchell Lyall (0-3, 8.44 ERA) has made the team's most appearances with 14. Cody Blackwell1 is 1-0 with a 6.92 ERA and 10 appearances.  Stuart Maes has a 2-4 record with a 6.55 ERA with 19 strikeouts. Freshman Keenahn Coyle is 0-3 with an 8.23 ERA in 10 appearances with six starts. He has 18 strikeouts with 28 walks. In his best start, a 7-6 walk off win against Winona State on April 8, he worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and four runs with six strikeouts. In that game, he tossed six innings of one-run ball on just four hits before WSU put a rally together in the seventh inning.