ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The St. Cloud State University baseball team (40-11) lost a 10-5 decision against Augustana University in the semifinals of the 2019 NSIC tournament on Saturday, May 11 at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minn.

The loss moves the Huskies into a must-win situation against Minot State on Saturday, May 11 at Joe Faber Field.  The game between the Huskies and Beavers will start at 4:20 p.m., with the winner of the game advancing to play Augustana in the NSIC tournament title game on Sunday, May 12 at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minn.  The winner of the NSIC tournament will receive the league's automatic qualifer bid for the upcoming 2019 NCAA DII tournament.

The Huskies and Vikings battled though the early innings of their match up on May 11 with SCSU gaining an early 1-0 lead in the first inning as Mathew Meyer connected on an RBI single that drove home Mitch Mallek.

In the fourth inning, SCSU moved its lead to 2-0 with an RBI by Caeden Harris that scored Mallek.  Augustana battled back with three runs in the fourth inning that pushed the score to 3-2.

In the fifth inning, the Huskies' bats ignited for three runs to take a 5-3 lead.  Mallek brought home Ethan Ibarra on a fly ball to centerfield.  Meyer then singled and scored Najee Gaskins, and then Jordan Joseph singled to scored Lenny Walker.

Augustana returned with one run in the bottom of the fifth and then added two runs in the sixth inning, two runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth to earn the winning margin.

On the day, Augustana outhit the Huskies 14-11.  Dylan Haskamp was the pitcher of record for the Huskies with 1.0 innings of relief work.  Sheldon Miks started the game and went 4.2 innings before being replaced by Riley Ahern.  The Huskies' Matt Butler completed the final 2.0 innings of the contest.  Max Steffens won the contest for Augustana with 6.0 innings of work.

At the plate, Meyer led the Huskies with three hits and two RBIs, while Mallek and Joseph also had two hits apiece for SCSU.

Of note, the NSIC tournament championship game is scheduled to be played at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 12.  In that game, Augustana will play the winner of the SCSU-Minot State game.  Tickets for the NSIC games may be purchased at the gate.