CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball games against Augustana University have been moved to Thurs., March 22 and Fri., March 23 due to predicted inclement weather this weekend in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Golden Eagles will play the Vikings Thurs., March 22 at 2 and 4 p.m. and Fri., March 23 at 1 and 3 p.m.

Thurs., March 22, vs. Augustana – 2/4 p.m. – Sioux Falls, S.D. – Karras Park Home of Ronken Field
Live Stats - http://www.sidearmstats.com/augie/baseball/
Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/augie/

Fri., March 23, vs. Augustana – 1/3 p.m. – Sioux Falls, S.D. – Karras Park Home of Ronken Field
Live Stats - http://www.sidearmstats.com/augie/baseball/
Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/augie/

Projected Line-up
R-Sr. CF 1 Anthony Stewart, .359, 22 runs, 6 doubles, 5 triples, 1 HR, 13 RBIs
Sr. RF 20 Mitchell Bornhauser, .205, 10 runs, 1 double, 4 RBIs
Sr. SS 27 Ethan Mushitz, .294, 11 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR, 11 RBIs
Sr. 1B 33 Reed Hjelle, .421, 13 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 23 RBIs
R-So. DH 12 Wyatt Peppel, .289, 3 runs, 2 doubles, 1 HR, 7 RBIs
Jr. 3B 16 Jonathan Lund, .273, 6 runs, 2 doubles, 8 RBIs
Sr. LF 5 James Cullinane, .245, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 RBI
R-Sr. C 7 Zach Frazier, .208, 8 runs, 1 double, 1 HR, 8 RBIs
R-Sr. 2B 6 David Anaya, .236, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs

Other Bats
Fr. UT 29 Ben Thoma, .200, 6 runs, 7 RBIs
Sr. OF 8 Scott Mortenson, .182, 2 runs

Top Pitchers
Jr. RHP 23 Parker Hanson, 1-3 3.90 ERA, 30.0 IP, 25 K, 6 BB
Jr. RHP 21 Zach Seipel, 1-1 3.95 ERA, 13.2 IP, 4 saves, 24 K, 7 BB
So. RHP 18 Justin Yutrzenka, 1-1 5.09 ERA, 23.0 IP, 17 K, 9 BB
Jr. LHP 34 Graeme Cherry, 1-0 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 7 K, 0 BB
R-So. RHP 38 Esten Beneda, 0-0 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP, 3 K, 0 BB

Minnesota Crookston has posted their best mark to open a season since opening the 2016 campaign with a 12-7 mark. The Golden Eagles are currently 10-9 (0-4 NSIC) through their first 19 games. Minnesota Crookston is looking to rebound from a sweep to open conference play against Concordia University-St. Paul last weekend.

The Golden Eagles are hitting .276 on the season entering Thursday. Minnesota Crookston is led by their clean-up hitter Reed Hjelle (Jr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.), who is hitting .421 with 13 runs, eight doubles, one triple, two home runs and 23 RBIs. Hjelle has been named NSIC Player of the Week and NCBWA Central Region Player of the Week this season. In addition to Hjelle, lead-off hitter Anthony Stewart (R-Sr., OF, Oak Harbor, Wash.) as he is hitting .359 with 22 runs, six doubles, five triples, one home run and 13 RBIs. Ethan Mushitz (Sr., SS, East Grand Forks, Minn.) has also started off strong as he is batting .294 with 11 runs, 4 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 11 RBIs.

Parker Hanson (Jr., RHP, Hawley, Minn.) leads the pitching staff as he has posted a 3.90 ERA in 30 innings pitched with 25 strikeouts and six walks. Hanson has allowed only four runs in the last 13 innings against defending National Champion West Chester University of Pennsylvania and Concordia-St. Paul. Zach Seipel (Jr., RHP, Eagan, Minn.) anchors the staff on the back end as the closer is 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched with four saves, 24 strikeouts and seven walks. Justin Yutrzenka (So., RHP, Argyle, Minn.) is coming off his best pitching outing of the season as he gave up just one run on eight hits in six innings of action against the Golden Bears March 18. Yutrzenka is 1-1 with a 5.09 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched on the season.

Augustana
Projected Line-up
So. CF 22 Riley Johnson, .391, 17 runs, 2 doubles, 11 RBIs
Fr. RF 35 Ryan Nickel, .439, 14 runs, 1 double, 8 RBIs
So. SS 14 Sam Baier, .316, 14 runs, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 4 RBIs
Fr. 1B 31 Jordan Barth, .404, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 4 HRs, 20 RBIs
Sr. C 27 Ryan Menssen, .324, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 5 RBIs
Sr. 3B 33 Lucas Barry, .216, 6 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 7 RBIs
Fr. 2B 20 J.T. Mix, .324, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 9 RBIs
R-Fr. DH 44 Aiden Ladd, .346, 9 runs, 2 doubles, 7 RBIs
Jr. LF 11 Michael Svozil, .394, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 7 RBIs

Other Bats
Jr. LF/DH 1 Nate Crossman, .333, 5 runs, 3 doubles, 4 RBIs
Sr. C 15 Trent Herman, .250, 5 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 RBIs
Sr. 2B 3 Carter Wevik, .211, 4 runs, 1 double, 1 RBI

Top Pitchers
Sr. RHP 26 Jacob Blank, 3-0 1.77 ERA, 20.1 IP, 28 K, 4 BB
Fr LHP 6 Jed Schmidt, 1-0 0.59 ERA, 15.1 IP, 14 K, 5 BB
Sr. RHP 16 David Flattery, 2-1 3.38 ERA, 16.0 IP, 21 K, 9 BB
Jr. RHP 40 Michael Brandt, 0-0 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 2 saves, 16 K, 2 BB
Jr. RHP 8 Derek Dahlke, 2-0 1.93 ERA, 9.1 IP, 14 K, 1 BB

Augustana is currently ranked No. 12 nationally with a 14-1 (3-1 NSIC) record. The Vikings are hitting .326 on the season. Augustana is paced by freshman Jordan Barth, who is hitting .404 with 11 runs, five doubles, four home runs and 20 RBIs. Fellow freshman Ryan Nickel is batting .439 with 14 runs, one double and eight RBIs. In addition, Michael Svozil is hitting .394 with 10 runs, two doubles, one triple and seven RBIs.

The Vikings have posted a 2.95 ERA on the 2018 season. Augustana is led by Jacob Blank, who is 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched with 28 strikeouts and four walks. Left-handed Jed Schmidt is 1-0 with a 0.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts and five walks. Their top bullpen arm is Michael Brandt, who is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA with two saves, 16 strikeouts and two walks.