The Augustana baseball team has gotten off to a strong start this season, compiling an overall record of 12-3 and winning seven of its last eight games.
The Vikings have won three contests in a row, with the latest coming by the 10-run rule in an 11-1 victory over Cornell.
Sophomore infielder Jake Huber, who is batting .409 on the season with five doubles, one home-run, and 15 RBIs, went 3-for-4 against Cornell, including a double and three RBIs.
“As a team, we have had a successful beginning of our season,” Huber said. “I think that our team has grown a lot from the fall season to the spring season with many different guys stepping up in certain spots. Our team creates depth in all aspects of the game, which helps push players every day to improve.”
On Monday, Augustana had its contest against Rockford cancelled due to inclement weather. The cancellation means the Vikings will go over a week between games.
Spring baseball can be a challenge due to constantly changing weather conditions, which Huber said can make it difficult for the team to get in a comfortable routine.
However, Huber is pleased with how he and his teammates have handled the uncertainty.
“Early season conditions are tough, especially not being able to get outside and do things as early as some teams,” Huber said. “But our team does a great job adjusting on the fly, and our facilities help us out when weather is bad. In the end, I don’t think weather plays too big of a factor, because it makes us more ready to finally go out there and play.”
Starting on Friday, Augustana is heading into the CCIW portion of its schedule. The Vikings will play host to the Wheaton Thunder for a double-header at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field.
After finishing tied for second place in the CCIW and losing by one run in the conference tournament championship last year, Augie is looking to make a mark in the conference this season.
According to junior pitcher, Mike Powers, who holds a 3-1 record and 1.23 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched, that has to start with a strong performance against Wheaton on Friday.
“We’re all excited to get to conference,” Powers said. “I think we’ve gone through highs and lows as a team already this year, but we know what we left on the table in the conference championship last year at the end of the day. I think our whole team is pretty locked in as far as taking care of business starting on Friday.”
Now in his third year at Augie, Powers said this is one of the youngest teams he has played with thus far.
He is not letting that get in the way of the team’s goals, though, as the Vikings push forward and hope to contend for a CCIW title.
“With our age, it speaks to how great our leadership has been and how good the talent we’ve brought in is.  We’re going to go through ups and downs, but we have to just take it one game at a time.  I’ve never looked ahead at a game on our schedule, and I know the rest of the guys haven’t either,” Powers said. “Our goal has always been to win and prepare for the next game.”
The first pitch of the double-header against Wheaton is scheduled for 1:00 P.M on Friday.