JACKSONVILLE, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings baseball team travels south for a three-day trip at the Illinois College Invitational from February 23-25.
The Vikings sit at 1-1 on the season and return after the Rhodes Classic in Tennessee, where Augie defeated Greenville but fell to Rhodes on February 17-18. On Sunday, the Vikings dropped to the Rhodes Lynx by a final score of 7-3.
In the game, the Lynx got on the board first in the bottom of the first to take an early lead, but in the top of the fourth, Augie evened the score after Alex Simon earned a walk and stole second. Dymitri Kanellakis advanced him to third before a Grant Biggins fielder's choice brought Simon home. Rhodes answered with two runs in the bottom half to get back out in front before a four-spot in the sixth to extend the margin. The Vikings inched closer in the seventh, seeing a single from Colton Davis to set up a two-run home run from Michael Aragon the following at-bat. Neither team scored a run for the remainder of the way as the Lynx held on for the 7-3 win.
Augie will open their weekend on Friday at 12 p.m. against Calvin. Calvin finished the 2023 season with a 19-20 overall record and a 6-5 neutral record. Friday will be the first meeting ever between programs and the first game of the season for the Knights.
On Saturday, the Vikings will face off against the St. Norbert Green Knights at the Pleasant Plains High School at 2 p.m. The Green Knights enter the contest after finishing the 2023 season 12-28 with 6-6 record at neutral sites. St. Norbert will open the season Friday against Blackburn before squaring off with the Vikings on Saturday. Augie holds a 2-0 all-time record over the Green Knights.
The Vikings will wrap up their trip with a game against the Simpson Storm on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Storm concluded the 2023 season with an overall record of 16-24 and a neutral site record of 6-4. Augie holds a 3-0 all-time record over Simpson, with their last matchup on February 26, 2023, resulting in a 7-3 victory for the Vikings.
Live stream for Friday's game against Calvin can be found here.
