Vikings baseball dominates early, chases NSIC glory
The Augustana baseball team is picking up where they left off last year with a hot start to the 2025 season. Coach Tim Huber has high expectations for the season, saying he will rely on both leadership from his seniors and spark-plug plays from familiar stars as well as young players.
As the three-time defending NSIC regular-season champions and the 2024 NSIC postseason tournament winners, the Vikings were voted the number-one team in the preseason coaches poll.
Junior pitcher Ashton Michek was voted the NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. In the 2024 season, Michek went 9-3 in his 12 starts. He had 86 strikeouts on the year with an average of 3.64 earned runs per nine innings. Huber credits Michek’s success to his consistency.
“Ashton throws a lot of strikes and has the ability to mix pitches,” Huber said. “He’s having a really, really good start to his season.”
Along with Michek, senior infielder Jack Hines was voted NSIC Preseason Player of the Year. Hines had an outstanding previous year both offensively and defensively: In 57 starts, he racked up 93 hits and drove in 89 runs, boasting a .445 batting average. He also maintained a solid .950 fielding percentage, meaning he successfully made plays on 95% of his defensive chances. He was also named the D2CCA and NCBWA National Player of the Year in 2024.
These returning stars aren’t the only players making a difference in the season.
“[Hines] is a great teammate,” Huber said. “He’s a team guy first, wants the team to be successful —and that’s the most important thing. This year we got a freshman who came in and is a pretty talented shortstop, and Jack was all about moving to second base if that made the team better.”
Freshman shortstop Kobe Eikmeier has seen considerable playing time this year.
Huber attributed this to his impressive defensive ability. In his short time with the team, Eikmeier said he has had only positive experiences so far.
“It feels great that I can come in and play a role on a team I’ve always looked to play for,” Eikmeier said.
Huber credited much of the team’s success in previous years to senior leadership. One of the seniors who has taken up a big leadership role this year is first baseman and outfielder Sam Siegel.
“Sam Siegel is our most vocal leader,” Huber said. “He’s been in our program for three years now after transferring from a juco. I would say having a guy like Sam around to interject some enthusiasm is good for our guys.”
In light of his veteran experience, Siegel knows how his team is viewed by the rest of the NSIC.
“We got a target on our backs,” Siegel said. “Every game, everyone’s going to bring their best against us. It’s kind of like their world series.”
As the Vikings look ahead to the rest of the season under the National Championship-winning Huber, they have some big matchups in mind – like the preseason poll’s second-place vote, Minnesota State.
