Angie Leno, staff writer
The baseball team is the oldest sports program in Augsburg history. This season, they enter year 101 as a program and are looking to turn things around because the Auggies have been on a streak of losing seasons in recent years. The last time the Auggies had a non-losing season (not including the 2020 shortened season) was in 2016 when the team went 19-19. The last time they had a winning season was in 2013 when the team went 24-15 and made it to the MIAC semifinals and the MIAC playoffs.
However, head coach Keith Bateman is no stranger to turnarounds. In 2004 he took over a program that had gone 18-53-2 the previous two seasons. Bateman’s team came close to getting the same amount of wins in the 2004 season that the team had earned in the past two seasons going 16-22. Subsequently, in 2005, the Auggies ended 24-18, earning their first-ever spot in the MIAC playoffs where they took second place. In his time at Augsburg, Bateman has coached 29 student-athletes who were named All-MIAC, nine who were named All-MIAC Defensive Team, and 17 who were named All-Region. Among them were MIAC Rookie of the Year, Regional Rookie of the Year, and NCAA DIII/Rawlings Gold Glove winners. Additionally, he has had two of his previous players get professional contracts.
The Auggies are looking to fill the shoes of some key seniors that left the program for graduation. Of the key seniors gone after graduation was Michael Weiss who was the 2022-2023 NCAA division three statistical champion for triples hit per game. Despite the loss of seniors and streak of losing seniors, the Auggies showed winning sparks in the 2023 season. The biggest spark was on April 12 when they beat the to-be MIAC champion, Gustavus Adolphus with a score of 9-7.
It’s no doubt that the Cam Fischer and Ty Gage duo will be the one to lead the Auggies to success this season.
Angie Leno, staff writer
A player to watch this season is senior pitcher Cam Fischer. In his three previous seasons as an Auggie, he has recorded 26 strikeouts, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.97 and a 1.000 perfect fielding percentage. In 2022, Fischer earned an MIAC pitcher of the week award for his six strikeouts and single hit allowed in 3.2 scoreless innings in the season-opening double header against Northland of Wisconsin. Another player to watch is senior catcher Ty Gage. In his three previous seasons as an Auggie, he has recorded 64 starts, an on base percentage of .391 a batting average of .281, 55 hits, 35 runs batted in (RBIs), 33 runs, 12 doubles, a triple and a home run. It’s no doubt that the Cam Fischer and Ty Gage duo will be the one to lead the Auggies to success this season.
You can catch the Auggies in action at their next home game on March 30 against a fierce Gustavus Adolphus team or on livestream on March 1 while the team is in River Falls, Wisconsin playing the University of Wisconsin-Superior.