 "Photo: Photo Submitted By Inertia Sports Media")
The baseball team suffered three losses during a three-team double-header in Springfield, Mo., last weekend.
Though Augustana beat out Wayne State Wildcats with a 6-4 victory on Saturday, Feb. 27, the team fell the next day as Wayne State retaliated with a 3-5 win over the Vikings.
Augustana lost both games against Drury University Panthers in a close game on Saturday, 4-5, and a resounding defeat of 2-8 the following day.
"We underperformed," senior pitcher Per Nestingen said. "This team has enough talent to make it to the national tournament, we just aren't consistent enough in all aspects of the game. We aren't doing the small things, fundamentals, that allow us to win close games right now."
Head coach Tim Huber also felt the Missouri games were lacking fundamentals that allowed for error.
"Overall we played okay, but we made too many little mistakes that cost us," Huber said.
After last weekend, the Viking baseball team's season record slid to 5-7, but there are still plenty of games left in the season.
Junior pitcher Bret Severtson did his best to keep some optimism for future games.
"There is obviously a little disappointment when you return from a road trip only going 1-3, but there were also some positives we can build on going forward with the season," he said. "I personally have extremely high expectations for the amount of talent we have on our team. It is going to be whether we can pull it all together or not that dictates where we end up."
"In some ways, this weekend was good because I think a lot of us see now how important it is to take full advantage of every situation," Nestingen said.
Despite the weekend's losses, the team is refocusing its efforts to try and correct small mistakes in addition to building experience for many of the younger players.
"We are young and looking for some freshmen to make immediate impact and some upperclassmen to improve as well," Severtson said. "Everyone needs to establish some confidence that they can play well at this level."
Coach Huber also has high expectations for the underclassmen.
"We have the ability to be a solid team, but we have some young guys playing for us right now," Huber said. "They will continue to get better as the season goes along and feel more comfortable in game situations. Our veterans need to be more consistent, and with that mix I could see us coming on stronger by the end of the year."
The baseball team's next chance for redemption will come over spring break at the RussMatt Baseball Invitational March 12-17, with regular season play resuming March 20 in a double header against Concordia-St. Paul.
"I don't know what to expect," Huber said. "Things could go either way. It is up to the guys to figure some things out and keep getting better."
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