Augustana Is National Champions

CARY, N.C. — The Augustana Viking baseball team defied long odds and made history Saturday in Cary, North Carolina. Augustana defeated Columbus State 3-2 to win the College World Series and the NCAA Division Two National Championship. Not only did the Vikings make history, but they did so without losing a game at the World Series. Ace Jacob Blank, making his debut after missing the previous World Series games with muscle tightness, pitched a complete game and struck out 12. Augustana scored 2 runs in the 4th inning on an RBI single from Ryan Nickel and an RBI Bunt single from Lucas Barry. Robert Brooks tied the game at 2 with atwo run home run in the bottom of the inning. But Augustana took the lead for good again in the 6th inning on a JT Mix 2-out RBI single. No program from the Northern Sun or old North Central Conference had ever won a title. Augustana also became the Northern most team geographicallyto a Division Two Baseball National Championship. It is the fourth national championship in Augustana history, joining softball (1991), women’s cross country (2011), and men’s basketball (2016).