CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team looks to continue their strong start to the 2023 season with a crucial series on the road Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 against Augustana University. The Golden Eagles take on the Vikings Friday, April 7 at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., and Saturday, April 8 at 12 p.m.

Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend with a 20-11 (10-3 NSIC) mark, while Augustana is 22-13 (11-4 NSIC). The Golden Eagles are in second place in the NSIC standings and they are just one game in front of Augustana in third place. UMN Crookston has won their last three tilts. They are coming off an important mid-week sweep of Upper Iowa University. The Golden Eagles have reached 20 or more wins six times in the last nine seasons.

Minnesota Crookston at Augustana
Friday, April 7 – 1:30/3:30 p.m.
Ronken Field, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Live Stats - TeamA 0 TeamB 0 Top 1 0 Outs (goaugie.com)
Video - NSIC Network
Saturday, April 8 – 12 p.m.
Ronken Field, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Live Stats - TeamA 0 TeamB 0 Top 1 0 Outs (goaugie.com)
Video - NSIC Network

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Sr. C 14 Matt Nunn, .228, 10 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBIs
or Jr. C 19 Danny Wensloff, .323, 21 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBIs
Fr. 1B/DH 32 Josh Dykhoff, .337, 28 R, 4 2B, 7 HR, 27 RBIs
or Jr. 1B/DH 18 Teddy Giefer, .288, 16 R, 6 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBIs
R-Fr. 2B 34 Sawyer Satrom, .270, 14 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 15 RBIs
Jr. 3B 13 Mike Hallquist, .462, 39 R, 13 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 40 RBIs
Jr. SS 10 Mitch Goodwin, .253, 26 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBIs
R-Jr. LF 8 Jake Hjelle, .368, 31 R, 12 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 40 RBIs
Jr. CF 9 Caden Headlee, .360, 24 R, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 19 RBIs
Jr. RF 23 Ben Goelz, .306, 23 R, 8 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBIs

Top Pitchers
Jr. LHP 3 Alex Koep, 4-0 2.06 ERA, 35.0 IP, 46 K, 17 BB
R-Jr. RHP 24 Jake Osowski, 5-0 2.18 ERA, 41.1 IP, 38 K, 14 BB
R-Sr. RHP 33 Jake Dykhoff, 4-3 3.57 ERA, 45.1 IP, 55 K, 9 BB
Jr. RHP 7 Brody Sorenson, 2-1 0.74 ERA, 24.1 IP, 22 K, 5 BB
So. RHP 21 Derin Gaudette, 1-1 2.19 ERA, 12.1 IP, 9 K, 8 BB
Fr. RHP 32 Josh Dykhoff, 1-1 6.23 ERA, 17.1 IP, 13 K, 4 BB
R-Sr. RHP 17 Conner Richardson, 1-3 9.22 ERA, 2 SV, 13.2 IP, 11 K, 7 BB

Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend hitting .323 as a team. The Golden Eagles have the second-best batting average in the NSIC. Mike Hallquist (Jr., 3B, Fargo, N.D.) has been an important piece to the puzzle. The transfer from Bismarck State College is third in NCAA Division II for batting average. Hallquist leads the NSIC in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, and RBIs. His .953 slugging percentage and 1.515 OPS are also tops in the conference. Jake Hjelle (R-Jr., OF/1B, East Grand Forks, Minn.) is right on par with Hallquist in terms of home runs and RBIs with 11 and 40. Hjelle is batting .368 for the season. Caden Headlee (Jr., OF, Fargo, N.D.), who came with Hallquist from Bismarck State College, is batting .360, with 24 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 19 RBIs. Josh Dykhoff (Fr., 1B/RHP, Wadena, Minn.) comes in hitting .337, with 28 runs scored, five doubles, seven home runs, and 27 RBIs.

On the hill, UMN Crookston has a 4.12 ERA. They are led by their starting pitching. Southpaw Alex Koep (Jr., LHP, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) is 4-0 with a 2.06 ERA in 35 innings, with 46 strikeouts and 17 walks. Jake Osowski (R-Jr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) is 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA in 41.1 innings of work, with 38 strikeouts and 14 walks. Jake Dykhoff (R-Sr., RHP, Wadena, Minn.) is 4-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 45.1 innings, with 55 strikeouts and nine walks. Brody Sorenson (Jr., RHP, East Grand Forks, Minn.) anchors the bullpen. Sorenson is 2-1 with a 0.74 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched.

Augustana
Projected Starters
C/RF 16 Nick Banowetz, .384, 23 R, 10 2B, 2 3B, 15 RBIs
or C 14 Drey Dirksen, .357, 25 R, 11 2B, 7 HR, 32 RBIs
1B 31 Luke Ballweg, .275, 15 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 18 RBIs
2B 38 Spencer Marenco, .232, 17 R, 4 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBIs
3B 1 Tate Meiners, .389, 12 R, 5 2B, 4 HR, 10 RBIs
SS 23 Jack Hines, .287, 25 R, 7 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 19 RBIs
LF 4 Max Mosser, .188, 7 R, 1 2B, 6 RBIs
or LF 10 Joshua Koskie, .285, 8 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBIs
CF 6 Jason Axelberg, .219, 15 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBIs
RF/CF 3 Trevor Winterstein, .311, 31 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 24 RBIs
DH 32 Parker Mooney, .239, 9 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBIs
or DH 18 Ragan Pinnow, .277, 17 R, 7 2B, 7 HR, 20 RBIs

Top Pitchers
RHP 48 Caleb Saari, 4-2 3.02 ERA, 50.2 IP, 60 K, 13 BB
RHP 40 Adam Diedrich, 1-1 1.42 ERA, 12.2 IP, 15 K, 5 BB, 6 SV
LHP 39 Ashton Michek, 2-1 3.42 ERA, 23.2 IP, 25 K, 9 BB
RHP 28 Seth Miller, 4-1 3.45 ERA, 44.1 IP, 48 K, 12 BB
RHP 22 Caleb Kranz, 2-1 5.34 ERA, 32.0 IP, 50 K, 11 BB
RHP 37 Ryan Jares, 4-4 5.45 ERA, 39.2 IP, 45 K, 17 BB

Augustana is coming off a mid-week split with Northern State University. The Vikings come into the weekend hitting .290. They are led by Tate Meiners, who is hitting .389 with 12 runs scored, four home runs, and 10 RBIs. Jack Hines comes in batting .387, with 25 runs scored, four home runs, and 19 RBIs. Drey Dirksen and Ragan Pinnow lead the team with seven home runs, while Trevor Winterstein leads the team with 31 runs scored.

On the mound, Augustana had a 4.43 ERA. They are guided by Caleb Saari, who is 4-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched. Saari has 60 strikeouts and 13 walks. Seth Miller is 4-1 with a 3.45 ERA in 44.1 innings of work. He has struck out 48 and walked 12. Out of the bullpen, Adam Diedrich leads the way with 1.42 ERA. Diedrich has six saves for the Vikings.

Augustana has a four-game win streak against the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookston's last win in the series came March 30, 2021 in Sioux Falls, S.D.