Sam Baier

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — It seems like wherever Sam Baier goes, he manages to bring home a championship.

On Saturday, the 2016 Springfield graduate and current Augustana University (Sioux Falls, S.D.) baseball player helped his team win its first-ever NCAA Division II national championship with a 3-2 win over Columbus State (Columbus, Georgia). Baier, a sophomore at Augustana, also won a state championship in his senior year of high in wrestling and in baseball. Baier finished the 2018 season with a .308 batting average, 29 stolen bases in 33 attempts, eight home runs and 58 RBIs.

The Vikings qualified for the DII World Series after winning the Central Region championship in Magnolia, Arkansas on May 21. The Vikings, who finished the season at 52-9, were the No. 5 seed in both the regional tournament and the College World Series.

He said he felt the Vikings felt a little disrespected by the No. 5 seed in both tourneys, so they took matters into their own hands.

“We were disappointed, we thought we could get a two-seed or a one-seed and host the tournament [in the regional tournament] and the same thing into the World Series, we got that five-seed and we thought we could’ve been a little higher, but at the same point, we just wanted to go in there and prove people wrong and show people that even though we’re from up north, we can play some baseball.”

Once the Vikings got to the World Series, they went unbeaten. They opened with a 5-2 victory against Southern New Hampshire and then defeated Florida Southern in the next round. An 8-2 win against Southern New Hampshire put the Vikings in the title game and there, they defeated Columbus State 3-2.

Baier said the Vikings came into this season with high hopes, but they had to replace some key players lost from last year’s team.

“I had good expectations, we lost 14 seniors last year and a lot of it was pitching and a few position guys, but we had some transfers come in from DI and they took the spots of the pitchers very well,” Baier said. “Our offense scored enough to win and if you look at our defense, it’s three freshman starters, two sophomore starters, a couple of juniors and only two seniors that played defense. It was a young team all the way through but there was a lot of talent there and the seniors kind of led the way and our young offense just took over.”

Baier will now turn his attention to the Northwoods League, where he will play for the Duluth Huskies beginning Tuesday in St. Cloud. But Saturday’s win is something that will go up there with his high school accomplishments.

“It was pretty surreal… there was a lot of hugs and it was just something that I’ll never forget,” he said.