ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana baseball (21-6, 6-3) will host the North Central Cardinals (22-7, 9-2) for a pivotal CCIW double-header. The Vikings and league-leading Cardinals will face off on Saturday, Apr. 23 starting at 1:00 P.M.
The Cardinals enter the weekend ranked 12
th nationally but coming off a conference loss in their last league contest. North Central dropped the final game of their weekend set against North Park last weekend. The Cardinals also squared off against Aurora in a top 25 matchup on Thursday evening.
Paul Beverly has been the rock of the NCC offensive attack. Beverly leads North Central with a .444 batting average, .727 slugging percentage, 44 hits, 43 RBI, 14 doubles, and 72 total bases. Dom Listi, Jared Wojcik, Luke Lehnen, and Michael Patterson also hit for impressive averages above the .300-mark. Listi has scored 45 runs and smashed five homers to lead NCC in both categories.
Ryan Behling, Charlie Klemm, and Luke Lamm lead the Cardinal pitching staff with over 40 innings logged apiece. Lamm and Klemm have earned five wins each while Klemm also paces North Central pitchers with 49 strikeouts. Elsewhere, Sam Corbett and Jason Shanner have posted earned run averages under three.
Since 1993, North Central has beaten Augustana 55 times compared to the Vikings' 44 wins in the same time frame. The Cardinals won the most recent game between the two teams by a 5-4 margin in the 2021 CCIW Tournament. Augustana won the two previous meetings, both in the 2021 season.
Game Coverage vs. Millikin (time listed in CST)
