Augustana goes 30-14; finishes second in the CCIW regular season and tournament; Carter Amundsen named Academic All-America and is one of six Vikings to earn All-CCIW honors and three named all-region
 
Augustana finished the 2017 baseball season with a 30-14 record and second-place finishes in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin regular season and tournament. The Vikings had six players named to the All-CCIW team. Senior Peter Doughty (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) and juniors Carter Amundsen (Sheboygan South HS, Sheboygan, Wis.) and Brad Dubow (Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Ill.) were named to the first team, while seniors Mitchel Ruh (Hinckley-Big Rock HS, Big Rock, Ill.) and Cayton Wallace (Assumption HS, Rock Island, Ill.), along with sophomore Ryan Kairis (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.), earned second team honors. In addition, three of Coach Greg Wallace's players landed on the D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Central Region teams. Amundsen was named to both teams. Doughty was named second team all-region by D3baseball.com and senior Zach Morgenstern (Peoria Notre Dame HS, East Peoria, Ill.) was a second team selection by ABCA/Rawlings.
 
On May 31, Amundsen was named Augustana's 166th Academic All-American. The junior right fielder was a second team selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
 
Wallace's bunch opened the season by winning 12 of 13 games on its two swings through Florida. The Augustana bats heated up with the warm weather, as the Vikings posted 10 or more runs in a half-dozen contests.
 
Back in the Midwest, Augustana won four of its first five home games to improve to 16-2 on the season and climbed as high as 14th in the D3baseball.com national poll. Five losses in seven games dropped the Vikings to 4-5 in CCIW play, but a five-game winning streak vaulted them back into the thick of the league race. They went 5-5 down the stretch, but swept a doubleheader at North Park to wrap up league play in a second-place tie with Wheaton—two games back of conference champion North Central.
 
At the CCIW Tournament in Naperville, Illinois, Augustana defeated Wheaton 3-2 (12 innings) and North Central 4-3 in the first two rounds, reaching the final day as the only unbeaten team. Unfortunately, the host Cardinals rallied in the ninth inning of both games on Saturday, winning 12-11 and 13-12 to claim the tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 2017 marked the 10th time in 20 seasons under Wallace that the Vikings have reached the 30-win plateau.
 
Amundsen (.377-0-32) finished the year as the team leader in batting average, hits (68), doubles (13), total bases (81), on-base percentage (.468) and stolen bases (15 in 17 attempts). He was also hit by 11 pitches, sharing the team lead with Ruh (.293-3-42)—the team leader in RBI. Kairis (.337-2-32) had Augustana bests of 50 runs scored and 27 walks and Doughty (.333-5-38) led in home runs and slugging percentage (.486).
 
In addition, Cayton Wallace (.339-1-30) and junior Matt Loeffl (Grayslake Central HS, Grayslake, Ill.) (.328-1-16) hit over .300 for a Viking squad that batted .307 on the year and averaged 7.8 runs per game.
 
Morgenstern (8-1, 3.53) led the pitching staff in wins, ERA, starts (13), complete games (three), innings pitched (86 2/3) and strikeouts (101). His 13 starts tied a school single-season record, which he already held with three others. His strikeout total is third-best in school history and his wins and inning totals both rank as fifth-best in program history. He finished his career in Augustana's all-time top ten in wins (tied for eighth with 19) and strikeouts (sixth with 209).
 
Junior Brad Dubow (Naperville Central HS, Naperville, Ill.) and sophomore Mike Powers (Benet Academy, Downers Grove, Ill.) were the Vikings' other top two starters. Dubow went 4-2 with a 4.20 ERA and fanned 63 in 60 innings and Powers finished 6-2 with a 4.21 ERA.
 
Senior Casey Weir (Warren HS, Wadsworth, Ill.) and freshman Justin Meyer (Buffalo Grove HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) split closer duties. Weir was 3-1 with five saves and a 3.92 ERA and Meyer saved four games with a 3.52 ERA. Senior Nick Refka (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) (4-3, 3.98) appeared in 20 games—tied for fourth most in school history.

2017 COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN STANDINGS

School	Conf	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
North Central	16-8	.667	31-18	.633
Augustana	14-10	.583	30-14	.682
Wheaton	14-10	.583	24-18	.571
Illinois Wesleyan	13-11	.542	21-20	.512
Elmhurst	13-11	.542	21-18	.538
Carthage	12-12	.500	20-18	.526
Millikin	11-13	.458	22-18	.550
North Park	8-16	.333	15-25	.375
Carroll	7-17	.292	13-27	.325

 
2017 CCIW BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
(Hosted by North Central – Naperville, Ill.)
 
Thursday, May 11
Game 1: No. 1 North Central 11, No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan 10
Game 2: No. 2 Augustana 3, No. 3 Wheaton 2 (12 innings)
 
Friday, May 12
Game 3: Illinois Wesleyan 11, Wheaton 0
Game 4: Augustana 4, North Central 3
Game 5: North Central 2, Illinois Wesleyan 0
 
Saturday, May 13
Game 6: North Central 12, Augustana 11
Game 7: North Central 13, Augustana 12
 
2017 AUGUSTANA BASEBALL SUPERLATIVES
CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA: 2nd team – Carter Amundsen
D3BASEBALL.COM ALL-CENTRAL REGION: 1st team – Carter Amundsen, OF; 3rd team – Peter Doughty, DH
AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION/RAWLINGS ALL-CENTRAL REGION: 2nd  team – Carter Amundsen, OF; Zach Morgenstern, P
ALL-CCIW: First team – Carter Amundsen, OF; Brad Dubow, P; Peter Doughty, DH; 2nd team – Ryan Kairis, OF; Mitchel Ruh, C; Cayton Wallace, IF
ACADEMIC ALL-CCIW: Carter Amundsen, Connor Berek, Sam Beyer, Travis Gates, Ryan Grannemann, Mitch Malone, Nick Mosele, Mike Powers, Jake Reinhardt, John Sagen
OUTSTANDING PITCHER AWARD - Zach Morgenstern
OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE PLAYER AWARD - Carter Amundsen
OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER AWARD - Matt Loeffl and Mitchel Ruh
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR AWARD - Justin Meyer and Chris Refka
OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AWARD - Senior Class
CAREER PERSEVERANCE AWARD - Cayton Wallace
MOST IMPROVED AWARD -Mike Avella and Mike Powers
OUTSTANDING TEAMMATE AWARD - Justin Joy
CCIW PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Kyle McGinley, 2/28
CCIW INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS: Sacrifices – 5, John Moraski... Sacrifice flies – 5, Peter Doughty... Plate appearances – 124, Carter Amundsen... Strikeouts – 52, Zach Morgenstern... Saves – 4, Justin Meyer... Starts – 8, Zach Morgenstern... Runners caught stealing – 10, Mitchel Ruh
CCIW TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS: Batting average - .326... Runs scored – 212... Hits – 285... RBI – 186... Plate appearances – 1,054... At-bats – 873... Walks – 114... Sacrifices – 24... Sacrifice flies – 24... Strikeouts – 177... Saves - 7
INDIVIDUAL TOP 25 NATIONAL RANKINGS: Strikeouts – 101, Zach Morgenstern, 10th... Pitching starts – 13, Zach Morgenstern, 21st
TEAM TOP 25 NATIONAL RANKINGS: Sacrifice Flies – 33, 6th... Sacrifice bunts – 46, 10th... Strikeouts per 9 innings – 8.2, 18th... Strikeout-to-walk ratio – 2.67, 18th
 
ADDITIONS TO TOP TEN LISTS
Single Season
Runs – 50, Ryan Kairis, T-9th
Hit-by-pitch – 11, Carter Amundsen, Mitchel Ruh, T-8th
Sacrifice flies – 6, Peter Doughty, T-4th
Fewest walks per nine innings – 1.71, Nick Refka, 9th
Wins – 8, Zach Morgenstern, T-5th
Saves – 5, Casey Weir, T-6th; 4 – Justin Meyer, T-10th
Appearances – 20, Nick Refka, T-4th
Starts – 13, Zach Morgenstern, T-1st
Innings pitched – 86 2/3, Zach Morgenstern, 5th
Strikeouts – 101, Zach Morgenstern, 3rd
Fielding chances – 392, Mitchel Ruh, 3rd
Putouts – 336, Mitchel Ruh, 5th
 
Career
Hit-by-pitch – 24, Mitchel Ruh, 7th
Strikeouts per nine innings – 10.05, Kyle McGinley, 3rd; 9.75, Brad Dubow, 5th; 9.28, Zach Morgenstern, 8th
Wins – 19, Zach Morgenstern, T-8th
Appearances – 50, Nick Refka, T-5th
Strikeouts – 209, Zach Morgenstern, 6th
Fielding chances – 836, Mitchel Ruh, 4th
Putouts – 748, Mitchel Ruh, 4th