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Date: February 29 and March 1, 2020
Times: 2/29 @ 12/2 PM | 3/1 @ 12 PM
Location: Bolivar, Mo.

Bolivar, Mo. - The SBU Baseball team will host previous national champion and preseason #13 Augustana University. The Bearcats will look to pull off the upset and move to above .500 once again. 

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
The Southwest Baptist University Bearcats are coming off a 19-31 (10-23 MIAA) finish last season. The athletics program has made the move from the MIAA to the GLVC, going from 14 to 16 teams in the conference. A solid, veteran pitching staff returns for the Bearcats, Dalton Morrow, Drew Wagner, Kyle Smith, and Cole Van Every. Leading the Bearcats offensively will be Brett Mitchell, Sam Avila, Blake Hobbs, Jackson Soule, and Blake Lutgen. Last season the Bearcats played against a few GLVC teams, going 2-1 against Maryville who finished 2nd in the GLVC last year, beating Drury 9-2, and sweeping McKendree with scores of 15-1 and 5-3.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Augustana University has a history of success in baseball, winning the National Championship in 2018. The Vikings have reached the NCAA Tournament 4 times in the past 10 years including both 2018 and 2019. The Vikings are returning senior pitcher Max Steffens who won NSIC pitcher of the year and newcomer of the year. Jordan Barth also returns to help the Vikings at the plate after claiming first-team All-NSIC with a .317 batting average in 2019 and being named preseason player of the year for the NSIC. Augustana is also picked to finish first in the NSIC for the 2020 season.