For Immediate Release
Monday, March 17, 2014
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release

NSIC Player of the Week
#9  Jenny Nelson
2B, Sr.
Carol Stream, Ill.
Kirkwood CC
Winona State

Jenny Nelson continued her tremendous start to the season, hitting .565 with two home runs and 14 RBI in the Warriors’ final eight games in Florida. Nelson went 13-of-23 at the plate, pounding out seven extra base hits (5 doubles, 2 HR) while slugging 1.043. She also drew five walks and was hit by a pitch, posting a .655 on-base percentage. Nelson had at least one hit in each of her eight games this week while posting multiple hits four times, led by a 3-for-4 performance against Wilmington. She had a pair of doubles to drive in four against Wilmington while driving in three against Ursuline. She also had two RBI in three other games while scoring eight runs herself as the Warriors went 8-0 on the week.

NSIC Player of the Week
# 13 Cayli Sadler
RHP, 5-6, So.,  R/R,
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Maple Grove HS
Minnesota Duluth

Cayli Sadler continued her hot stretch in the circle, going 2-0 in the double dip against MSU-Moorhead, posting a 0.00 ERA on three total hits, no walks and 13 strikeouts. Sadler pitched the opening game tossing a complete game shutout striking out 10. The sophomore came into relief during game two and picked up the win going three strong innings fanning three and didn’t allow a runner on base. In her eight innings of work, Sadler allowed the opponent to a .103 batting average and held the Dragons hitless on 14 attempts with a runner on a base (0-for-14).
        

NSIC SOFTBALL TEAM NOTES
Augustana
#12 Mackenzie Alstott (OF, 5-7, Jr., L/R, Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge HS) batted .500 going 7 for 14 in the last two games of the Rebel Spring Games last week as the Vikings went 6-0 on the trip. Alstott cracked two doubles in her seven hits and drove in one run while scoring three. She accounted for nine total bases stole one base and had a .500 on-base percentage.
#14 Carley Pickett (P, 5-4, So., L/L, Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul HS) made four appearances, including three starts, in Augustana’s final four games at the Rebel Spring Games. Pickett picked up a win and two saves in her four appearances striking out 10 batters and allowing just two runs. She earned her second win of the season in a complete game effort against Ferris State striking out a season-high six batters and allowing just one run. Pickett tossed one inning to earn her second save of the season striking out two batters against No. 14 Wayne State and earned her third save going three innings and giving up just two hits against Indianapolis on March 11.
 
Bemidji State
Nicole Dupay (OF, Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) was stellar leading the Bemidji State University softball team to a 7-3 record in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Dupay finished the week with team-highs in hits (15), total bases (22) and runs (9). The senior from Woodbury, Minn. hit an impressive .429, while maintaining a .629 slugging percentage. Dupay had two or more hits in six of the Beavers’ 10 games. Dupay also smacked her seventh career home run, moving her into fifth place on Bemidji State’s all-time home run list.
Jessica Yost (P, Fr., Bemidji, Minn.) posted a 2-0 record and a 0.82 ERA during Bemidji State University softball team’s 10-game spring break trip to South Carolina. Yost threw a complete game, four-hit shutout to pick up the win against State University of New York Institute of Technology. She allowed just one run, while striking out eight against Delaware Valley College. In all, Yost threw 17 innings while tossing two complete games and striking out 18.
 The Bemidji State University softball team posted a 7-3 record on its 10-game spring trip to South Carolina, improving its nonconference record to 11-5 overall. With 11 wins through its first 16 games, Bemidji State has already accounted for more wins than any season since 2006 (17). With the non conference slate wrapped up, Bemidji State will now switch its attention to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Beavers will enjoy a week off before opening league play with a doubleheader against University of Minnesota Crookston, March 25. The games are set to begin 1 p.m. at the BSU Softball Field.

Concordia-St. Paul
Concordia-St. Paul (3-11) traveled to Florida this past week to take part in the Rebel Spring Games. The Golden Bears faced some stiff competition, including three games against ranked opponents, and returned home with a record of 2-6 in their eight games. CU got things off on the right foot as they took down Glenville State (W.Va.) 10-1 in five innings in their first game on Tuesday. They followed it up with a comeback rally that fell short against Southern Indiana. After being rained out the next day and having a scheduled off day the following day the Golden Bears were back on the diamond for a pair aginst #8 Wayne State (Mich.) and Florida Southern. CU battled hard against the eighth-ranked team in the land but fell just short in a 5-3 loss. The second game of the day was another tight game that ended with a misleading final score of 10-5 as Southern Indiana struck for five in the sixth to put the game away. Junior Stephanie Kappes got Concordia back in the win column on Saturday morning as she threw her first shutout of the season to give the Golden Bears a 5-0 win over Lees-McRae (N.C.). Game two on Saturday was another game that slipped away late as LIU-Post (N.Y.) grabbed an 8-3 win. CU concluded the trip on Sunday with a pair of losses to #18 Caldwell (N.J.). Concordia’s offense went quiet in the final two games as they were only able to muster six hits in the doubleheader as they lost 2-0 and 7-3.

University of Mary
The University of Mary softball team was idle last week. They will be idle again this week and are next scheduled to compete on March 25 as they open conference play on the road against Minot State.

Minnesota Crookston
Ashley Manusos (Sr., OF, Spring Grove, Ill.) came through in the clutch as the Golden Eagles were knotted up 1-1 in the top of the seventh Saturday against Slippery Rock University. With two runners on base and two out, the senior outfielder hit a three-run home run to help deliver the 4-1 win, the first of the season, for the Golden Eagles. Manusos had two doubles in the earlier game of the day Saturday against Assumption College.

Minnesota Duluth
The Bulldogs got their first sweep of the season over MSU-Moorhead blanking the Dragons twice on Tuesday improving to 11-6 on the year. UMD won the front end of the series 10-0 in five innings, then followed up with a 4-0 victory. Ten different Bulldogs collected hits as the Bulldogs went .327 as a club. The pitching staff collectively held the Dragons to a mere five hits and two walks.
Hailey Lundquist (OF, 5-5, Fr., Hastings, Minn.) doubled her production offensively with a big two-game set against MSU-Moorhead. Lundquist went 2-for-3 while driving in four in game one and tallied another hit to finish .429 at the plate. She recorded a pair of doubles on the afternoon and had a pair of two-out RBIs. The rookie center fielder shined with the bases loaded going 2-for-2 and is hitting .417 with runners in scoring position this year.
Cayli Sadler (P, 5-6, So., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) continued her hot stretch in the circle, going 2-0 in the double dip against MSU-Moorhead, posting a 0.00 ERA on three total hits, no walks and 13 strikeouts. Sadler pitched the opening game tossing a complete game shutout striking out 10. The sophomore came into relief during game two and picked up the win going three strong innings fanning three and didn’t allow a runner on base. In her eight innings of work, Sadler allowed the opponent to a .103 batting average and held the Dragons hitless on 14 attempts with a runner on a base (0-for-14).

Minnesota State
The Minnesota State softball team returned to its winning ways, posting a 4-2 record in the final four days of the Rebel Spring Games, improving to 10-6 overall with wins over Ohio Dominican (8-1), Hillsdale (9-0), Glenville State (8-7) and Lees-McRae (9-2) before weather wreaked havoc on the Mavericks schedule forcing two games to be cancelled, stopping the MSU momentum. The Mavericks dropped their final two games of the tournament, falling to Adelphi (8-7) and Indianapolis (1-0). MSU now turns its attention to the Missouri Western Tournament where it will do battle with six different MIAA schools.
Senior Lindsay Erickson (Big Lake, Minn.) was able to find her groove at the dish, posting a .550 batting average through six games, a week ago. The three-time All-American posted eight runs on 11 hits in 20 at bats including one double, one triple, one home run, eight RBI and 17 total bases for a .850 slugging percentage. The left-handed batter also recorded one stolen base on one attempt and recorded 18 putouts and one assist in the field.
Freshman Coley Ries (Eagle Lake, Minn.) continued her strong start to the 2014 campaign, earning a 1-1 record in three appearances, not allowing an earned run (0.00 ERA) in 11 innings of work.  The lone run that was scored with Ries in the circle came by way of the international tie breaker in the Mavericks’ 1-0 loss to Indianapolis. Ries finished the week with 13 strikeouts and help opposing batters to a .293 batting average.  

MSU Moorhead
Taylor Huss (SS, 5-7, Jr., Peshtigo, Wis. / Peshtigo HS) had a solid week as MSUM opened its trip to Florida with a 2-1 mark. Huss hit .444 with four hits in nine at-bats and also a homer and two RBI, finishing with a .778 slugging percentage for the week. Huss hit a two-run homer in a 5-4 loss to Slippery Rock on Saturday. She also finished with four putouts and 10 assists from her shortstop position.
Morgan Nybo (P, 5-6, So., Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins HS) went 2-0 on the week to help MSUM to a 2-1 mark to open the Rebel Spring Games. Nybo had a 0.98 ERA in 14.1 inningss pitched and also had 13 strikeouts. She gave up just two earned runs. She pitched MSUM to a 5-4 win over Mercy College on Saturday and then fired a four-hit shutout -- with 10 strikeouts and one walk -- in a 4-0 win over St. Michael’s College.

Minot State
#5 Ali Cygan (SS, 5-6, Jr., Bozeman, Mont. / Belgrade / South Dakota State) jumped her season average nearly 100 points over the first six games of Minot State’s annual trip to Florida during the National Training Center Tournament. She has 11 hits, going 11-for-20 for a .550 average in helping the Beavers outscore its opponents 45-12 during a six-game win streak. Cygan has seven RBIs and scored six runs, while swatting two doubles and stealing two bases during the six games.
#21 Mindy Lorimor (P, 5-8, Jr., Thurman, Iowa / Fremont-Mills / South Dakota State) continues to shake of the rust of not having pitched many innings for the past two years to put together a solid start to her first season at Minot State. She went 3-0 in three starts, working 22 innings in three complete games to help the Beavers to a 6-0 mark at the National Training Center Tournament in Florida. She was especially tough against Slippery Rock University, striking out a career-high 11 batters in the 3-0 shutout. On the week she has 18 strikeouts to just two walks and has given up five earned runs in her 22 innings.
Minot State University broke out the bats over the latter half of their first six games at the National Training Center Tournament in Florida. The Beavers have outscored their opponents 45-12 to earn six straight wins at the tournament and upped their season-best winning streak to seven games. Minot State outscored its opponents 32-3 over the past three games. #5 Ali Cygan (SS, 5-6, Jr., Bozeman, Mont. / Belgrade / South Dakota State) has led the offense with 11 hits and seven RBIs, while leadoff #24 Jordan Grant (CF, 5-7, L/R, Fr., Adelnato, Calif. / Silverado) has 12 hits and scored eight runs. Slugger/pitcher #4 Jen Dixon (P/LF, 5-9, L/R, Sr., Brandon, Manitoba / Vincent Massey) has also heated up in Florida as she has nine hits, six RBIs, three doubles and a home run in her past six games and is 3-0 in the circle. Also 3-0 with impressive numbers is starter #21 Mindy Lorimor (P, 5-8, Jr., Thurman, Iowa / Fremont-Mills / South Dakota State) who has 18 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched. Minot State is scheduled to play four more games in Florida before starting its NSIC season at home with the University of Mary on March 25.

Northern State
The Northern State University softball team finished the Rebel Spring Games with a record of 4-4 after splitting each day of play. The Wolves defeated Ohio Dominican, Lees-McRae, and Adelphi University while falling to Hillsdale, LIU Post and University of Indiana. Junior Kami Smesmo left the week with a 3-1 record and an ERA of 1.75. The NSU pitching staff struck out 27 batters in eight games. Eryn Yancy leads the Northern offense with a .381 batting average, while Macey Engel connected for her first homerun of the season, a game winner against Adelphi, and four doubles in her time on the field.  Northern will now travel to take on Washburn University March 19th at 2 and 4 p.m. from Topeka. The Wolves will then continue the road trip to the Missouri Western Tournament with match-ups against Central Missouri, Northwest Missouri State, Emporia, Missouri Western, Pitt State and Washburn.

SMSU
Kaley Scearcy (3B, 5-5, Sr., L/R, Mankato, Minn. / Mankato West) saw the ball well this past week as she put together a nine-game hitting streak for Southwest Minnesota State at the Rebel Spring Games in Central Florida this past week. Scearcy finished hitting .346 with nine hits, two runs, a walk and an RBI in SMSU’s ten games. Scearcy has started all 15 games for SMSU this season and her solid week at the plate bumped up her average to .319. She leads SMSU in at-bats, hits, doubles and has only struck out five times.
Alex O’Connor (SP, 5-11, Fr., R/R. Bloomington, Minn. / Thomas Jefferson) hurled 38.1 innings in seven starts for SMSU at the Rebel Spring Games in central Florida this past week. The true freshman went 2-5 in her seven starts with an ERA of 2.74. She allowed 15 earned runs and struck out 23 batters. In SMSU’s wins over Ferris State and Maryville, O’Connor tossed all 14 innings while holding the opponent to a .173 batting average and didn’t allow an earned run, while striking out eight. O’Connor pitched a three-hit complete-game shutout to defeat Ferris State 5-0 to earn her first collegiate win. O’Connor’s season started off rocky but she has found her way this past week and now sports a 4.00 ERA in nine starts this season for the Mustangs.
 
Sioux Falls
The Cougars rolled over their opponents in the last week by winning all six of their games including claiming four victories by seven or more runs. The Cougars will continue their spring break trip this week as they play six games over the next four days.
Amanda Walters (P, 5-8, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington HS) claimed four wins over the last week, pitching 22 innings for the Cougars. Walters compiled 27 strikeouts and an impressive ERA of 0.82 in the five appearances while only giving up 10 hits. Walters’ WHIP in those five games was also an outstanding 0.727.
Shannon Daly (C/IF, 5-8, So., Omaha, Neb./Marian HS) sparked the Cougars at the plate in during their six game win streak as she batted 0.440 in 25 at bats. Daly also brought in seven runs for the Cougars and crossed the plate herself nine times. In her appearances at the plate for USF, Daly hit three singles, four doubles and two home runs to help pace the Cougars offensively.

St. Cloud State
The St. Cloud State University softball team has competed in six games this week at the Rebel Spring Games in Winter Haven and Auburndale, Florida. The Huskies have posted a 2-4 overall record on the week with wins over Ohio Dominican and Maryville University and consecutive losses to Ferris State, Lees-Mcrae, LIU-Post and Hillsdale College. The Huskies will complete action at the Rebel Spring Games on Monday, March 17 as they take on Caldwell College and the University of New Haven. St. Cloud State sits at 4-6 overall this season. Freshman designated player Emma Hodges (Munster, Indiana) has stepped up to the plate this week, posting eight hits in 14 at bats for a .571 average. Hodges has recorded two doubles, four RBI’s and a .714 slugging percentage during play at the Rebel Spring Games. Sophomore pitcher Senna Francesconi (Schombeg, Ontario) has excelled on the mound this week, appearing in five games, pitching 14.2 innings and owning a 1.43 ERA. Francesconi is 2-2 on the mound at the Rebel Spring Games. Following play in Florida, the Huskies will return to action as they travel to the Missouri Western Invite on March 21 through 23 in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Upper Iowa
Erica Kirgan (IF, 5-9, So., Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny HS) posted a .381 batting average and earned 4 RBIs over this past week as UIU split its six matchups in Hawai’i. Kirgan earned her first and second home runs of the season in back-to-back games while posting a slugging percentage of .762 last week. Kirgan collected eight hits in 21 at-bats, while adding two doubles and three runs scored to her stat line. The sophomore infielder now has five home runs and five doubles in her young career.
Brooke Redmond (P, So., 5-4, Basehor, Kansas/Basehor-Linwood HS) posted a 0.70 ERA this past week en route to a 2-1 record. The sophomore southpaw, who improved to 6-5 this year, gave up 17 hits in 20 innings of work while racking up 6 strikeouts. Redmond led the Peacocks to three wins in the Aloha state including her first shutout of the season as UIU defeated Chaminade University, 3-0, this past Tuesday. In that game, Redmond went the distance allowing just five hits while striking out and walked two batters. In all, Redmond allowed just three runs to opponents, two of which were earned runs. She finished the week with three complete games under her belt while allowing just one extra-base hit to opponents.
The Peacock softball team split its matchups this past week in Honlulu, Hawai’i. UIU split with Chaminade University on Tuesday night thanks to a shutout performance on the rubber from Redmond. The visitors then swept Hawai’i Pacific University on Wednesday night led by an outstanding performance from Jacqueline Flood. The Peacocks’ sophomore pitcher threw 12 innings and made two appearances in the pitching circle in game one to lead her team to a 6-5, 14-inning victory. UIU then took game two, 3-1, as Kirgan added an insurance run in the sixth inning with a solo home run. Unfortunately, the Seasiders of BYU-Hawai’i crashed the Peacocks’ beach party on Thursday by sweeping UIU, 2-0 and 2-1. UIU returned to Iowa on Saturday, but the team will hit the road again this week. The Peacocks will face the Tritons of the University of Missouri-St. Louis in a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon.

Wayne State
Melanie Alyea, a 5-4 freshman first baseman from Phelan, California (Serrano HS), went 12 for 26 at the plate (.462) in eight games at the National Training Center Spring Games in Florida with five doubles and 10 RBI.  She hit safely in seven of the eight games played and had five multi-hit games in Florida.  She was 2 for 2 with a double and three RBI’s in a 4-1 win over Wilmington (Del.) on Wednesday and in the next game was 2 for 4 with a double and three RBI’s in a 7-4 loss to #22 West Virginia Wesleyan.  
In the eight games, Alyea had six runs scored and tied first baseman Kaiti Williams with 12 hits on the trip for the most hits by a WSC player in Florida.
Junior pitcher Kelcie Bormann (Preston, Iowa) was 4-0 in five appearances with a 1.89 ERA in Florida.  She fired four complete games with one shutout on the trip and worked 33 1/3 innings allowing just 24 hits and seven earned runs with 37 strikeouts and 10 walks.  Bormann fired a three hit shutout with eight strikeouts Friday in a 11-0 win over American International (Mass.), struck out 12 batters in a complete-game two hitter on Monday in a 7-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas of New York.  She also pitched complete game wins over Queens College (NY) on Tuesday 4-3 and 4-1 against Wilmington (Del.) on Thursday.
 
Winona State
Jenny Nelson, Sr., 2B, Carol Stream, Ill. (Kirkwood CC) continued her tremendous start to the season, hitting .565 with two home runs and 14 RBI in the Warriors’ final eight games in Florida. Nelson went 13-of-23 at the plate, pounding out seven extra base hits (5 doubles, 2 HR) while slugging 1.043. She also drew five walks and was hit by a pitch, posting a .655 on-base percentage. Nelson had at least one hit in each of her eight games this week while posting multiple hits four times, led by a 3-for-4 performance against Wilmington. She had a pair of doubles to drive in four against Wilmington while driving in three against Ursuline. She also had two RBI in three other games while scoring eight runs herself as the Warriors went 8-0 on the week.
Hanna Lythberg, So., P, Mount Prospect, Ill. (Prospect) posted a 3-0 record with a 1.31 ERA in three appearances for the Warriors last week in Florida. The sophomore threw two complete games while shutting out Tiffin. She allowed just 17 hits in 16 innings of work while striking out ten. She posted six strikeouts against West Liberty, giving up just one run in the complete-game victory. She added a complete-game shutout against Tiffin, scattering five hits while ending the week by striking out three in three innings to beat Mercy (NY).


Past Players/ Pitchers of the Week
2/11/14 Player: Lindsay Spanton, Augustana
 Pitcher: Janelle Trautmann, Augustana
2/18/14 Player: Samantha Holien, Minnesota State
 Pitcher: Not Awarded
2/25/14 Player: Morgan Lintz, Winona State
 Pitcher: Brooke Redmond, Upper Iowa
3/3/14 Player: Allison Brown, U-Mary
 Pitcher: Amanda Walters, Sioux Falls
3/10/14 Player: Allison Brown, U-Mary (2)
 Pitcher: Coley Ries, Minnesota State
3/17/14 Player: Jenny Nelson, WSU
 Pitcher: Cayli Sadler, Minnesota Duluth