Augustana will open the 2017 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Baseball Tournament on Thursday, May 11 with a game against Wheaton. The tournament will be held at Zimmerman Stadium on the campus of North Central in Naperville, Illinois.
 
Head coach Greg Wallace's Vikings finished the season with a 28-12 overall record and a 14-10 mark in the CCIW, good enough for second place in the league standings.  The Vikings will play the third-seeded Thunder (24-16; 14-10) at 3:30 in the second game of the afternoon. The first game will pit the CCIW champion North Central Cardinals (21-15; 16-8) and fourth seeded Illinois Wesleyan (20-18; 13-11) at 12:00 noon.
 
Heading into postseason play, junior Carter Amundsen (Sheboygan South HS, Sheboygan, Wis.) is the team's leading hitter with a .377 average. He also leads Augustana in at-bats (162), hits (61), doubles (13), total bases (74), on-base percentage (.472) and stolen bases (12 in 14 attempts).
 
Sophomore Ryan Kairis (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.) (.336-2-27) leads the Vikings in runs scored (48) and walks (25). Senior Peter Doughty (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) (.313-5-36) has team highs in homers and slugging percentage (.477) and classmate Mitchel Ruh (Hinckley-Big Rock HS, Big Rock, Ill.) (.311-3-39) leads in RBI and hit-by-pitch (11).
 
Sophomore Mike Powers (Benet HS, Downers Grove, Ill.), senior Zach Morgenstern (Peoria Notre Dame HS, East Peoria, Ill.) and junior Brad Dubow (Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Ill.) own 29 of Augustana's 40 starts on the mound this year. Powers is 6-2 with a 3.36 ERA. Morgenstern is 7-1 with an ERA of  3.71 and leads the staff in wins, starts (12), complete games (two), innings pitched (77 2/3) and strikeouts (89). Dubow is 4-1 with a 3.98 ERA and has limited the opposition to a .235 batting average.
 
Senior Casey Weir (Warren HS, Wadsworth, Ill.) and freshman Justin Meyer (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) have shared closer duties. Weir is 3-1 with a 3.98 ERA and five saves, while Meyer has a 3.38 ERA and four saves.
 
As a team, the Vikings are hitting .308 and averaging 7.9 runs per game. The pitching staff carries a 4.02 ERA and opponents are batting .274 against Augustana hurlers.
 
A year ago Augustana won the regular season title and then took the CCIW Tournament by winning three straight games at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field.
 
 
2017 CCIW Baseball Tournament
May 11-13, 2017
Zimmerman Stadium, Naperville, Illinois
Hosted by North Central

Event Schedule (as of 5/8/17 -- subject to change)

Thursday, May 11 
Game 1: No. 1 North Central (21-15; 16-8) vs. No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan (20-18; 13-11), 12 p.m. 
Game 2: No. 2 Augustana (28-12; 14-10)  vs. No. 3 Wheaton (24-16; 14-10), approx. 30 mins. after completion of Game 1 

Friday, May 12
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9:30 a.m. 
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, approx. 30 mins. after completion of Game 3 
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, approx. 30 mins. after completion of Game 4 

Saturday, May 13
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m. 
Game 7: Necessary if Game 5 winner beats Game 4 winner in Game 6, approx. 30 mins. after completion of Game 6