MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Augustana Vikings baseball team will begin their 2025 season at the Rhodes Classic starting on Friday, February 14 as they face the No. 24 Rhodes Lynx and Webster Gorloks

The Vikings are coming off a 27-17 overall record and 10-10 in CCIW play. The team placed second in the CCIW tournament after winning three elimination games. Augie received votes in the first edition of the D3baseball.com/NCBWA preseason poll for the second year in a row. The Vikings return eight key players alongside Daniel Mosele who earned Second Team All-Conference honors a season ago. Augie opened their season last year at the Rhodes Classic with a win over Greenville before a loss against Rhodes.

Augie first game will be against No. 24 Rhodes who sit at 3-1 on the season. The Lynx return to action after four games at the Gents Classic in Shreveport, La. In their most recent matchup, Rhodes picked up a 5-2 win over Centenary (La.) on Sunday. The Lynx totaled seven hits all coming from different players, while Cooper Kuriger notched two runs batted in. Both teams have met six times with each team winning three apiece. Rhodes conquered their most recent game last season at the Rhodes Classic by a score of 7-3. 

Augie's second game on Friday will be against Webster who will open their season on Friday with the showdown against Augustana. The Gorloks finished the 2024 season with a 24-19 record. Webster returns James Theodore who led the team with a .424 batting average and 37 runs batted in. The Gorloks owned a 6-8 neutral record a season ago. Both teams have met six times with each team winning three matchups. Webster secured the most recent meeting in 2023 at the regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 9-8. 

Friday's game against Rhodes is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., with the Webster matchup at 6:30 p.m.