In the semifinal round of the elimination bracket of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/U.S. Bank Postseason Baseball Tournament on Friday evening, Augustana (S.D.) College upended the University of Minnesota Duluth's postseason push by a 9-4 final on the Vikings' home field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

UMD (35-16) will find out Sunday, May 10 if it did enough damage in the conference postseason to earn a spot in the six-team NCAA II Central Region Tournament during the selection show at 9:00 p.m., while Augustana (37-16) advances to a rematch with No. 1/2 St. Cloud State University in the NSIC Championship game Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs ranked eighth in the final NCAA II Central Region Rankings released this past week, with the Vikings on the outside, meaning they will likely need to win the championship to advance to the regional tournament.

After a scoreless first inning, the Vikings struck for three runs in the top of the second, first on an RBI double by Patrick O'Donnell, putting runners on second and third for an RBI groundout with O'Donnell eventually coming in to score on a single by J. James. Junior designated hitter Bo Hellquist got UMD on the board in the the bottom of the inning, lifting a solo shot down the left field line on a full count, but another RBI double for Augustana in the top of the third put the Vikings up by three.

Junior third baseman Kyle Comer dropped in a one-out single in the fourth inning to start another Bulldog rally. A pair of walks and a pair of wild pitches eventually brought him around to score and put runners on first and third for Hellquist, who launched a double to left center, plating junior second baseman Jimmy Heck and sophomore outfielder Grant Farley, tying the game up at four apiece, breathing new live into the game for freshman lefty Tommy Hanson, who relieved first-year right-hander Nick Dorfman in the fourth inning. Hanson tossed 3.1 perfect innings before finally giving up a hit and being relieved by senior right-hander Michael Stocke, lowering his ERA three runs after tossing just 7.2 innings during the regular season. Stocke got UMD out of the inning, but the Vikings would break through once again in the eighth against a pair of freshmen, jumping out to a 6-4 lead with a two-run single by O'Donnell. They'd plate another run in the inning before freshman righty Justin Kunkel came in to get the last out of the inning.

Augustana would tack on two more runs in the ninth, securing the victory as the Bulldogs were blanked in the game's final frame.