SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – On a four-game winning streak, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (24-19, 16-12 NSIC) hosts their last home games on the season on Wednesday, April 27 against No. 16 ranked Minnesota State University Mankato (27-5, 20-3 NSIC) at the First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D. at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm. From there, the Cougars head down the road to take on cross-town rival and No. 20 ranked Augustana (34-7-1, 24-4 NSIC), on Saturday, April 30 at 2 pm and 4 pm at Ronken Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.

USF has won seven of eight games to move to 16-12 in the NSIC for fifth in the NSIC. With the 16 wins, USF has its most wins in conference play in the DII era and the 24 total wins are the most by a USF baseball team in that time span, dating to 2012.

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Quick Review 
After opening 4-0 with a sweep of doubleheaders against Southwest Baptist, the Cougars, directed by sixth-year Head Coach Grant Hieb (92 career wins – 69 NSIC wins) dropped three-of-four games against Metro State-Denver. USF went 3-4 in Florida over spring break, and 2-1 against Minnesota Crookston as NSIC play opened. They split a doubleheader with Minot State before winning 2-of-3 against Southwest Minn. State on March 26-27. USF had a series win over Bemidji State (2-1) and a doubleheader loss to U-Mary before hosting and defeating Concordia St. Paul three times to move to sixth in the NSIC with a 12-11 record and 20-18 overall.  USF allowed just four earned runs in wins of 7-2, 2-0, and 7-2 over the weekend at First National Bank Field in Brandon, S.D. In the 1-0 win Logan Parker-Sjoberg made his first career start and threw five shutout innings. Alex Krout earned his seventh save and then also picked up his eighth save – tops in the NSIC – in the 7-2 game two win. The 1-0 win by USF was the first of that nature since a 1-0 win at CSP on May 1, 2016 in St. Paul, Minn., when the Cougars had a walk-off win to back the four-hit shutout of Dan Johnson, who worked nine innings.  On Tuesday, April 19, the Cougars split a doubleheader with Upper Iowa with both games extended to extra innings. After dropping game one, 4-3, in eight innings, USF earned a 7-6 victory in 10 innings in game two as Grayson Skinner picked up his first career win and Tyler Blackburn had three hits and an RBI.  Last weekend on April 23-24, the Cougars swept Wayne State in a three game series - all by one run, including 9-8 in 12 innings in game one of a doubleheader on an extremely windy day. USF walked off that win after rallying from down 7-3 in the seventh inning and winning it on Zach Andreasen's single through the left side to plate Connor King. USF also took a 1-0 decision  in game two as Matt Graham pitched a complete game five hitter. Then USF rallied for a  4-3 win on Sunday on a walk-off hit by Noah Christenson which scored Kyle Gulbrandson as the Cougars scored two in the bottom of the ninth for the fourth straight win.

Look at the Opponent – No. 19 Minnesota State Mankato
MSU, which is on a seven-game winning streak, are currently sitting at 27-5 overall and 20-3 in the league. The nationally-ranked Mavericks are led by 13th-year head coach Matt Magers. MSU is 2-0 at home, 10-1 on the road, and 15-4 at a neutral site. In the batter's box, Nick Altermatt leads MSU with a .405 batting average, including 37 runs on 47 hits, a .802 slugging percentage, and a .477 on-base percentage. Altermatt also has a team-high ten home runs and 47 RBI. Ryan Wickman has a team-high 38 runs on 41 hits. On the hill, MSU has a 2.70 earned run average and is led by Brendan Knoll, who is 6-1 in 44.0 innings pitched with 40 strikeouts. Altermatt is also 7-0 from the pitcher's mound, with a 2.19 ERA and 51 strikeouts.

Look at the Opponent -- No. 22 Augustana
Augustana, which is on a six-game winning streak, are currently 34-7-1 overall and 24-4 in the league. The No. 22 nationally ranked Vikings are led by 14th-year head coach Tim Huber. AU is currently 18-2 at home, 11-2 on the road, and 5-3-1 at a neutral site. In the batter's box, Carter Howell leads the Vikings with a .400 batting average, including 43 runs on 60 hits, ten home runs, and a .680 slugging percentage. Howell also has a team-high 52 RBI and a .442 on-base percentage. Will Olson is hitting .385, with 30 runs on 50 hits. Olson also has nine doubles, nine home runs, and 42 RBI. On the hill, AU has a 2.81 earned run average and is led by Tanner Brown, who is 6-0 in 57.0 innings pitched. Brown has thrown 76 strikeouts with a 1.58 ERA, with eight game starts in nine game apperances. 

Series Record - Mankato
The Cougars trail Minnesota State in the overall series, 20-0. In their most recent matchup, the Cougars took a 10-6 loss to the Mavericks on May 14, 2021 in Mankato, Minn. The last time the Cougars hosted MSU was May 1, 2019, which was a 12-1 victory in favor of the Mavericks. 

Series Record - Augustana
In the overall series, USF trails AU, 11-8. However, the Cougars won their most recent matchup, a 6-3 victory on April 21, 2021 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Prior to that, the Vikings were on a four-game winning streak dating back to a 4-2 win by USF on the day Augustana was ranked No. 1 in the country. The win was USF's fourth in the previous six games to that point. Dylan Gavin picked up the win after fourth scoreless innings to start the game and he added an RBI double. Connor Merriam had a two-run single to plate both Gavin and Josh Rehwaldt with what proved to be the winning runs.

Breaking Down USF Baseball - By the Numbers
USF is now hitting .288 on the season and sits sixth in the NSIC. USF has 257 runs, 382 hits, 50 doubles, 24 home runs and 77 stolen bases as they have a 24-19 overall mark and 16-12 conference record. USF is 11-3 at home. Noah Christenson leads USF with a .358 average, which ranks 12th in the NSIC, and has a team-high 57 hits, 36 runs, and 36 RBI. Brady Klehr is hitting .341 with 44 hits, nine doubles and five home runs, along with 27 RBI and a .527 slugging mark. He has a team-best .337 average in league play. Ben Serie is batting .308 with a team-high seven home runs along with a team-high 75 total bases and has 26 RBI as well as a .524 slugging mark.

On the mound, USF lowered its earned run average from 5.75 to 5.48 after the solid mound work against WSU. USF has three shutouts, nine saves, and four complete games, with 305 strikeouts in 333.1 innings. As a team, USF has recorded 19 double plays.

USF's starting staff is led by Caleb Ditmarson, who is 4-2 overall with a team-high 48 strikeouts. In league play, he has a 3.94 earned run average and a 2-1 mark with 30 strikeouts in 29.2 innings. In the pen, USF has Alex Krout, a senior who has made 16 appearances and has a league-best 11 saves. He has 25 strikeouts in 26.1 innings with a 2.73 earned run average and a 2.25 earned run average in league play, where he has 19 strikeouts in 20.0 innings. Also in the NSIC, Alex Bertram has nine appearances with a 1.80 earned run average and 12 strikeouts in 10 innings.