CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball is looking to continue their record-breaking start as they trek to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on No. 19 Augustana University Tuesday, March 30 at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field.

The Golden Eagles continue to share the lead in the NSIC with Minnesota State University with an unblemished 12-0 (8-0 NSIC) record. Augustana comes into the meeting with a 9-3 (5-3 NSIC) record. Augustana leads the all-time series 40-4 with a 23-0 mark at home against the Golden Eagles.

Minnesota Crookston at Augustana
Tuesday, March 30 – 1:30/3:30 p.m.
Sioux Falls, S.D. – Karras Park Home of Ronken Field
Live Stats - https://goaugie.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Live Video - https://nsicnetwork.com/goaugie/?B=249726

Minnesota Crookston is hitting .307 on the season with a 1.060 OPS. The Golden Eagles are led by Brock Reller (Sr., OF, Grand Forks, N.D.), who has been one of the top hitters in the nation. Reller is hitting .383 with 18 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, a league-leading eight home runs, and 22 RBIs. Parker Stroh (R-Fr., C, Grand Forks, N.D.) has been a key piece for the Golden Eagles in nine games played. Stroh is hitting .474 with two home runs and six RBIs. Bobby Chu (R-Sr., C, Redwood City, Calif.) has returned from injury to hit .345 with seven runs scored, while Landyn Swenson (R-Sr., OF, Devils Lake, N.D.) has been one of the top players in the nine-hole in the conference. Swenson is hitting .341 with 14 runs scored, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 11 RBIs. Jake Hjelle (R-Fr., 1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) is also off to a great start. Hjelle is batting .340 with 18 runs scored, four home runs, and 14 RBIs.

The Golden Eagles have 29 home runs as a team. They are just nine home runs from setting the school-record for home runs, breaking their mark of 37 home runs in 2016. Minnesota Crookston has also worked counts this season and earned 94 walks, giving them a .453 on-base percentage.

On the mound, the Golden Eagles are coming off a strong performance in three games against Upper Iowa. They have lowered their ERA to 5.65. UMN Crookston has 99 strikeouts to 58 walks. Jake Dykhoff (Jr., RHP, Wadena, Minn.) has been the ace of the staff. He has just given up one run, leading to a 0.43 ERA in 21 innings pitched. He has two complete games, one save, 25 strikeouts, and just five walks.

Brody Sorenson (Fr., RHP, Grand Forks, N.D.) has stepped in as a freshman and is anchoring the back end, following in the footsteps of stand-outs Dalton Grose and Zach Seipel, currently in the minor league system for the Atlanta Braves. Sorenson is 1-0 with three saves with a 1.08 ERA with five strikeouts. Garrett Hohn (R-Sr., RHP, Wausau, Wis.) has been strong out of the bullpen with a 1-0 mark and a 0.00 ERA in 3.2 innings pitched. Alex Koep (Fr., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.), along with Sorenson has been an impact true freshman. Koep is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Jayden Grover (R-Sr., RHP, Cooperstown, N.D.) has continued to be a leader of the staff. One of the best pitchers in the program's history, Grover has a 4.00 ERA in nine innings pitched.

Augustana
The Vikings come into Tuesday with a 9-3 (5-3 NSIC) record. Augustana took 2-of-3 from Minot State University last weekend. The Vikings were led on the weekend by a perfect game from Tanner Brown in a 4-0 victory Saturday over the Beavers.

A key storyline in the series is a match-up with Augustana pitcher Parker Hanson, a former Golden Eagle and a 2019 graduate of Minnesota Crookston. Hanson looks on tap to pitch against the Golden Eagles after starting against Southwest Minnesota State on March 25. Hanson is 0-0 with a 3.52 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched with five strikeouts and three walks. Hanson pitched for the Golden Eagles in 2017 and 2018. Augustana's pitching staff comes in with a 3.73 ERA with 125 strikeouts to just 32 walks. Brown has been the top starter with a 0.53 ERA and a 2-0 record with 20 strikeouts to just three walks. Their top reliever has been Josh Olson with a 0.00 ERA in four innings pitched, while Koby Bishop has a 4.97 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched.

The Vikings come in hitting .295 as a team with 83 runs scored, 24 doubles, five triples, eight home runs, and 63 RBIs. Augustana has a .450 slugging percentage. The Vikings are led by Carter Howell, hitting .409 with 15 runs scored, one home run, and seven RBIs. J.T. Mix enters Tuesday hitting .382 with nine runs scored and four RBIs. Riley Johnson is batting .367 with nine runs scored and 10 RBIs, while Jordan Barth is batting .354 with eight runs scored, six doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBIs.