Vikings Picked Fourth in NSIC; Winter, Heairet Players to Watch
BURNSVILLE, MN — The Augustana baseball team were picked by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference coaches to finish fourth in NSIC competition this season. Kye Winter and Ben Heairet were tabbed as players to watch for the Vikings in 2013.
Augustana collected 158 votes which placed them in fourth, just five points behind third-place Winona State. The Vikings are coming off a 32-21 season which they finished fourth in the NSIC with a 22-12 record in league action.
Minnesota State gathered 195 points and 13 of the 15 votes for the top spot in the coaches poll. St. Cloud State came in second with 177 points, including a first-place vote, and Winona State collected the last first-place vote and 163 total points.
Winter, a junior from Willow Lake, S.D., was selected as the player to watch for the Vikings. The right-handed pitcher/utility received a medical redshirt due to suffering a season-ending knee-injury after starting five games. In his sophomore season, Winter batted .228 in 33 appearances, including 26 starts. The 6-2 junior smashed six doubles and two home runs while stealing eight bases in eight attempts in 2011.
A senior from Omaha, Heairet was named the pitcher to watch for the 2013 Augustana squad. The left-hander made nine starts in 10 total appearances, posting a 4-1 record. On three occasions, Heairet struck out nine batters and totaled 48 strikeouts on the year. The 6-5 senior held opponents to a .239 batting average in 48.2 innings of work.
The Vikings kick off the season in Waipahu, Hawaii with a double header against Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. Central time.
| RK | Team | Points |
| 1 | Minnesota State (13) | 195 |
| 2 | St. Cloud State (1) | 177 |
| 3 | Winona State (1) | 163 |
| 4 | Augustana | 158 |
| 5 | Wayne State | 152 |
| 6 | Minnesota Duluth | 116 |
| 7 | Bemidji State | 112 |
| 8 | Concordia-St. Paul | 108 |
| 9 | Southwest Minnesota State | 95 |
| 10 | Upper Iowa | 91 |
| 11 | Norhtern State | 63 |
| 12 | Sioux Falls | 59 |
| 13 | U-Mary | 38 |
| 14 | Minot State | 29 |
| 15 | Minnesota, Crookston | 19 |
Courtesy: Augustana College
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