For Immediate Release
Monday, April 14, 2014
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release

NSIC Player of the Week
#21  Patrick Rients
DH, 6-1, 195, Sr.,  L/R,
Jackson, Minn.
Jackson County Central HS
Southwest Minnesota State

Rients batted .526 (10 for 19) with three home runs, three doubles, five runs scored, one stolen base and finished with six RBIs to lead SMSU to a 4-1 week versus Winona State and Wayne State. Rients finished with a 1.156 slugging percentage with 22 total bases. Rients had at least one hit in all five games and had two or more in four games. He finished 4 for 8 with a run scored and an RBI in a split with Winona State, then finished 6 for 11 with three home runs and five RBIs in a three-game sweep over Wayne State. Rients leads SMSU in batting average (.359), home runs (8), RBIs (24) and slugging percentage (.718).

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#27  Chris Kubitz
LHP, 6-6, 212, Sr., L/L
Shakopee, Minn.
Shakopee  HS
St. Cloud State

Kubitz pitched a complete seven inning shutout for the Huskies on Saturday (April 12) in game one against Sioux Falls to earn a 6-1 win striking out 12 batters. With the win he moves his record to 4-1 on the season. Kubitz went six of seven innings without giving up a hit and only allowed one in the game. On the season, Kubitz holds a 1.69 earned run average in 37.1 innings of work for SCSU. This marks the second time this season Kubitz has been named NSIC Pitcher of the Week (3/3/14).

NSIC Baseball Team Notes
Augustana
#16 Tony Viger (3B, 6-2, 215, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D. / O’Gorman HS) continued his dominant offensive season at the plate this past week, helping guide the Vikings to a 5-0 record. Viger recorded three hits and two RBI in a two-game sweep of rival Sioux Falls on Wednesday at Harmodon Park. The Sioux Falls, S.D. native really had it going in during the three-game sweep of Minnesota Duluth over the weekend. Viger went 2 for 4 with two RBI and one run scored in 6-2 win in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday. In game two, Viger went 2 for 5 with one RBI and a run scored while hitting his NSIC-leading 19th double of the year. On Sunday, the former O’Gorman High standout notched three hits in a 11-3 win for the sweep of the Bulldogs. It was the senior’s fourth straight multi-hit game. For the week, Viger’s statistics were: .454 (10 of 22) batting average, drove in 6 RBI, scored four runs, and had two doubles.
Michael Letkewicz (RHP, 6-4, 215, So., Waterloo, Iowa / Columbus Catholic HS) picked up his team-leading fifth win on the year for the Vikings. Letkewicz went five innings on Sunday in a 11-3 win against UMD, giving up just one run on two hits while striking out 10 batters, one off his career high. The Waterloo, Iowa native showed good command of the strike zone while on the mound, despite high winds and cold temperatures in his outing.

Bemidji State
#10 Chad Hanson (OF, 6-4, 195, RS-Sr., L/R, St. Paul, Minn. / Mounds Park Academy) led the Beavers to a 2-2 NSIC home record April 10-12, as he posted a .417 batting average, .583 slugging percentage and .417 on-base percentage. He went 5-for-12 at the plate with two doubles and totaled seven bases. He added two RBIs and a run scored. In the field he recorded seven putouts with one error for a .875 fielding percentage. In the four games he recorded two hits twice and in a win against Wayne State April 10 went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
#19 Derek Masberg (RHP, 6-4, 185, Fr., R/R, Kilkenny, Minn. / Waterville-Elysian-Morristown HS) made the best of his collegiate debut April 10, as he earned the start and went the distance for a 2-1 victory against visiting Wayne State. The freshman hurled seven innings and allowed just one earned run on one hit (the one hit scored the lone run in the second inning). He issued four free passes and hit a batter, but fanned six Wildcats. He allowed WSC to post a .045 batting average, after the Wildcats entered the contest fourth in the NSIC in the category with a .299 average. Wayne Stat also entered the game averaging 9.0 hits per contest. After the third inning, just one Wildcat reached first base successfully (a walk in the fourth).

Concordia-St. Paul
Sophomore Ryan Poppitz went 4-7 with a double and two RBI to power Concordia to a 2-0 week with a pair of 5-2 wins at Minot State ... sophomore Eric Fasnacht also went 3-6 and senior Brooks Beilke went 4-9 ... junior Kyle Dalton also stayed hot by going 3-9 in the two wins ... Dalton is third in the league in hitting (.441) while Fasnacht is fourth (.418) while Poppitz is 11th with 25 RBI ... Dalton is also second in the NSIC with 1.71 hits per game while Poppitz is third with 1.09 RBI per game.
Sophomore left hander Zach Rengel (Fergus Falls, Minn./HS) went 6.0 innings and allowed one earned run to improve to 4-1 on the year in his sixth start ... in the process, Rengel lowered his season ERA to a league-leading 1.25 and is holding hitters to a .227 on the season, eighth in the league while allowing only four extra base hits all year.
The Golden Bears picked up a pair of 5-2 wins over Minot State in the first ever meeting between the two programs to extend Concordia’s winning streak to three games with all three victories by a 5-2 score ... Concordia is now 8-6 in the NSIC in seventh place but in a virtual tie with Bemidji State (both teams 2 games over .500) ... the two teams play head-to-head this Friday and Saturday in a four game series in Bemidji after the Golden Bears play Minnesota Crookston in a midweek doubleheader ... Concordia is 32-6 all-time against Minnesota Crookston including 29-straight wins dating back to game one on April 18, 2003 ... the teams have not played since a non-conference doubleheader in Florida in 2011 and haven’t played an NSIC game since a 4-game series in 2010 in St. Paul ... Concordia is 18-2 at Barnes Field and 12-2 in Crookston against the Golden Eagles ... Concordia is 29-20 against Bemidji State, 12-10 at home at Barnes Field and 10-4 on the road in Bemidji against the Beavers ... Concordia has taken three of the last four meetings but BSU has won five of the last nine ... the teams met earlier this year in Tucson, Ariz. with Concordia winning 20-3 ... last year, they split a four game series in Sioux Falls ... Concordia swept its last trip to BSU in a 2011 doubleheader.

University of Mary
Michael Vollrath (LHP, 6-0. 185, Jr., L/L, Winnipeg, Manitoba / St. Paul’s HS) pitched one of his best collegiate games in a 2-1 win over #3 Minnesota State University. The junior lefthander allowed just one run while throwing a seven-inning complete game. He struck out four, walked two and gave up seven hits while also hitting four batters. U-Mary won the game when the Mavericks pitcher committed a throwing error with two outs in the seventh, allowing two Marauders runs to score. This was the second complete game of the season for Vollrath, who improved his record to 2-4... Sam Salveson (RHP, 6-2, 200, Sr., R/R, Mandan, N.D. / Mandan HS) won his third straight start - and third of his career - in a 4-3 complete game win over Upper Iowa. In seven innings, the senior from Mandan, N.D., struck out one hitter and allowed 11 hits, one walk and two earned runs. Salveson picked up the win when Jason Shaul hit a walk-off single to cap a two-run seventh inning rally for the Marauders. A converted reliever who had never started a collegiate game on the mound until throwing a complete game 9-1 win at Wayne State College on April 2, Salveson is 3-0 with two complete games in three starts. For the year he has a 3-0 record with a 1.57 ERA in 28.2 innings.
Austin Grundstad (2B/SS, 5-10, 160, Sr., L/R, Williston, N.D. / Williston) hit .429 for the week with a .643 slugging percentage and an on base percentage of .467. In four games he went 6-of-14, scored three runs, drove in two, stole a base and hit a double and a triple. The senior middle infielder was a key player in the Marauders 4-3 walk-off win over Upper Iowa. With two outs he tripled home Scott Held to tie the game and scored the winning run on a single by Jason Shaul. For the season Grundstad is batting .374... Reigning NSIC Player of the Week Jason Shaul was a key figure in two walk-off wins for the Marauders this week. He singled and scored the game-tying run in a 2-1 win over #3 Minnesota State when the Mavericks pitcher committed a throwing error two allow two runs to score with two outs in the seventh. In a 4-3 walk-off win over Upper Iowa he blasted the game-winning single to deep left field. In four games Shaul hit .385 (5-of-13) with a double, three runs scored and two RBI. He was hit by a pitch three times and stole three bases in three attempts. For the season Shaul is hitting .394. His 13-game hitting streak ended in a 9-3 loss to Upper Iowa.

Minnesota  Crookston
The Minnesota Crookston baseball team lost six games last week as they faced two of the tougher teams in the NSIC in St. Cloud State University and No. 3 Minnesota State University. The Golden Eagles will look for more consistent pitching as they travel to a site relocated game with Concordia University, St. Paul Tues., April 15. UMC is then scheduled to host Wayne State College (Neb.) in a four-game series Thurs., April 17 and Fri., April 18 heading into the Easter holiday.
Minnesota Crookston is 1-29 (0-18 NSIC) on the 2014 season. They are currently seeking their first conference win of the season.

Minnesota Duluth
The weekend handed the University Minnesota Duluth one disappointment after another as the Bulldogs’ latest attempt at a home-opening series was moved to Sioux Falls, and then Augustana College swept UMD in a weather-shortened three-game set at Karras Park.
The high-powered Viking offense plated 32 runs on the weekend, but just 27 were earned as the Bulldog defense failed its  pitching staff with 10 errors across the three games. Sophomore left-hander Bo Hellquist posted the best outing for UMD, pitching a seven-inning complete game in game one but taking the tough-luck loss to fall to 1-4 on the season despite a 4.09 ERA in his six starts in 2014. Augustana relied on big innings to take down the Bulldogs, and in the three-game series scored seven runs in the first and third innings, and 13 runs in the seventh inning in pulling away late.
UMD got its offensive boost from junior catcher Beau Goff, who batted .500/.500/1.000 on the weekend with a home run, a double, and a pair of runs batted in. Sophomore third baseman Jimmy Heck continued his offensive resurgence with three runs batted in and his first home run of the season, while freshman designated hitter Grant Farley added his first longball of 2014 as well. As a squad, UMD batted .232/.284/.427 and struck out 19 times compared to just four walks. The Bulldogs will now look to reverse fortune with series against U-Mary and Sioux Falls on the schedule this week.

Minnesota State
Third-ranked Minnesota State (28-7, 16-4 NSIC) proved victorious in five of its six contests and outscored its opponents 74-11 last week to move into a tie for second in the conference. The Mavericks split at U-Mary dropping game one, 2-1, as the Marauders scored twice on a MSU error in the bottom of the seventh, before the Purple and Gold rebounded with a 14-2 triumph in game two as junior Joey Reed earned a win in his first start with the Mavericks. MSU returned to Mankato last Saturday and Sunday for what was its home opener despite being the visiting team for all four contests against Minnesota Crookston. The Purple and Gold swept UMC by margins of 14-0 and 14-1 as senior Jason Hoppe struck out nine and allowed just three hits over six shutout innings in game one and sophomore Eric Peterson collected four extra-base hits with a 2.000 slugging percentage on the day. Sunday’s doubleheader saw MSU top the Golden Eagles 13-2 in the first game behind a seven-run fifth inning and earn a 18-4 win in game two scoring 14 runs over the final four frames. The Mavericks will host Bemidji State Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. before hitting the road for a four-game series at Northern State this upcoming Thursday and Friday.
Eric Peterson (Fr., 2B, 5-11, 175, Eagan, Minn./Eagan) cemented himself in the leadoff spot for the Mavericks this past week flashing a tremendous combination of power and speed. Peterson went 12-for-20 (.600) this past week with a 1.050 slugging percentage off a home run, two triples and two doubles. The freshman swiped a team-high six stolen bases, scored a team-best 12 runs, collected a team-high 21 total bases, and added nine RBI to go along with a .955 fielding percentage. On the season, Peterson is batting .321 and slugging .514 this season with three home runs, 28 RBI, 28 runs and a team-best 14 stolen bases.
Jason Hoppe (Sr., RHP, 6-1, 180, Rice, Minn./Sauk Rapids) improved to 7-1 on the year after registering nine strikeouts and scattering three base hits for a .150 opponent batting average over six scoreless innings against UMC last Saturday. The All-American leads the conference with 51.2 innings pitched, 62 strikeouts and seven wins this season to go along with three complete games, a 2.79 ERA and a .230 opponent batting average.

Minot State
The Minot State baseball team did something Saturday afternoon they haven’t done since May of 2010, play a game on their home field of Corbett Field in Minot. The homecoming was dampened however, as the Beavers (9-15 Overall, 3-7 NSIC) lost both games of a Northern Sun doubleheader to Concordia University, St. Paul (16-8 Overall, 8-6 NSIC), 5-2, 5-2. In the opening game of the four-game series, MISU jumped out a 2-0 lead as the Beavers cashed in on a CU error. A.J. Begay (Sr., 3B, Salt Lake City, Utah) grounded to shortstop, but the CU throw was off target allowing Begay to advance all the way to third while Conner Oliver (Jr., OF/P, Dayton, Nev.) and Nicholas Hammerl (Jr., Inf., West Peoria, Ill.) scored. But the lead wouldn’t last as Minot State starter Joshua Larsen (Jr., P., Surrey, British Columbia) gave up an unearned run in the fourth and then four earned runs in the fifth inning, ending his night. Larsen gave up eight hits in the loss and is now 0-4 on the year. Minot State’s offense was only able to generate four hits in game one. In game two, Minot State struck first again as Andrew Roach (Jr., OF, Gilbert, Ariz.) and Hammerl attempted a double steal, causing CU starting pitcher Zach Rengel to balk, causing each of them an uncontested base. In the sixth inning through the eighth inning is when the Golden Bears did their damage offensive, as they went on a 4-0 run while recording eight hits in that time period. The Beavers gave up two runs in the sixth and two runs in the eighth. Minot State attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth and had a great start as Ricco Walker (Jr., OF, Oakland, Calif.) smashed a 3-2 pitch deep to left field for his first home run of his MISU career. Paul Vogelsang (R-Fr., C, Regina, Saskatchewan) then had a one-out single but it wasn’t enough to come up with a comeback win. The Beavers have now lost four straight games and six of their last seven. The doubleheader between the Golden Bears and the Beavers was canceled on Sunday morning, as cold temperatures prevented the two teams from playing. Minot State will now prepare for a midweek doubleheader as they travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on Northern State University on Tuesday April 15.

Northern State
Matt Stubbs, Jr., 3B, Rochester, Minn. continued his hot streak for the Wolves as he hit .364 (4-for-11) with one home run, four RBI, two doubles and a team-high five runs scored as NSU went 3-0 on the week. NSU defeated crosstown rival Presentation College 12-5 and then swept Upper Iowa 8-5 and 5-4. The Wolves have now won eight consecutive games which is a new program record in NCAA Division II play for Northern. Stubbs also drew two walks on the week and recorded a .500 on-base percentage while slugging .818.
James Georgakas, Fr., P, Ellsworth, Wis.  was huge in relief in the Wolves’ 12-5 win over Presentation. Georgakas got the win in the midweek game as he pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless relief as he allowed just two hits and recorded five strike-outs in the win.
NSU’s midweek doubleheader with Minot State has been moved up to Tuesday now. Game one starts at 1 p.m. from Fossum Field.

Sioux Falls
USF baseball went 0-6 last week to fall to 14-19 overall (8-12, NSIC). The Cougars first dropped a midweek double-header to rival Augustana College (25-10, 15-4) Wednesday at Harmodon Park.  Augustana took game one 14-2 behind a season-high 17 hits by the team and held on for a 3-2 win in the nightcap to earn a full First Dakota National Bank Mayor’s Cup point. Senior Noah Coleman did all he could for the Cougars (14-15, 8-8 NSIC), going a combined 3-for-6 at the plate as well as tossing 1 2/3 hitless innings in game two where the senior lefty walked none and struck out three. Six Cougar miscues and a light-hitting lineup gave St. Cloud State repeated momentum, runners on base and runs scored over the course of the weekend, resulting in USF (14-19, 8-12 NSIC) dropping a four-game series to the league-leading SCSU Huskies. The series was moved from St. Cloud, Minn., to Sioux Falls because of unplayable conditions, but the Huskies (25-6, 14-3) made themselves right at home, pounding out total 33 hits in the series. The Cougars managed just 14 hits in the four contests. The icy bats undermined a pair of strong efforts on the mound from sophomore Dylan Rock and senior Noah Coleman. Rock held the Huskies in check in Friday’s game two nightcap, holding SCSU to one run on four hits. He walked four and was charged with a balk in USF’s 2-0 defeat. Coleman (1-3) went eight innings and allowed three runs on three hits, walked three and fanned four in the series finale (a 3-1 SCSU victory). USF will host Southwest Minnesota State (16-13, 7-6 NSIC) tomorrow for a midweek double-header scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. at Harmodon Park.
 
SMSU
Senior Patrick Rients (Jackson, Minn. ) batted .526 (10 for 19) with three home runs, three doubles, five runs scored, one stolen base and finished with six RBIs to lead SMSU to a 4-1 week versus Winona State and Wayne State. Rients finished with a 1.156 slugging percentage with 22 total bases. Rients had at least one hit in all five games and had two or more in four games. He finished 4 for 8 with a run scored and an RBI in a split with Winona State, then finished 6 for 11 with three home runs and five RBIs in a three-game sweep over Wayne State. Rients leads SMSU in batting average (.359), home runs (8), RBIs (24) and slugging percentage (.718).
Junior right-hander Mitch Wurm (Maple Lake, Minn.) tossed a four-hit shutout with three strikeouts and no walks in SMSU’s 5-0 victory over Wayne State on Saturday. It was his second straight shutout, after allowing just three hits with three strikeouts and no walks in a win over Minnesota Duluth on April 6.

St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State baseball traveled to Sioux Falls April 11-12 for a four-game series against the University of Sioux Falls after having their games originally scheduled to play in St. Cloud. The Huskies tallied a weekend sweep over the Cougars winning 10-3 and 2-0 on Friday and then 6-0 and 3-1 on Saturday. On Friday, in the first inning scoring three runs on two hits and three USF errors for a 3-0 lead. Michael Jurgella had the big hit of the inning with a double to left field but a single by Zach Hoffmann would earn him two RBI. St. Cloud posted six runs for a 9-0 lead in the fifth inning off of five hits and one Sioux Falls error. The Huskies first runs of the inning came on a two-run home run by Zach Hoffmann over the left field fence. USF and St. Cloud traded runs in the sixth for a 10-1 game. On the mound in game one was senior Kyle Fischer as he pitched six innings of work allowing only five hits and struck out nine batters. Fischer is now 5-1 on the season with the win. Also seeing one inning on the mound was senior Nick Maiers as he faced six batters and only allowed one hit. In game two, scoring was limited as St. Cloud won 2-0. The Huskies scored one run in the first inning as Brandon Arnold stole home. The final run of the game came in the bottom of the seventh for the Huskies with senior Travis Enger coming across home plate on a USF wild pitch. Senior Corey Fitzgerald earned the win on the mound as he posted eight innings of work allowing only three hits and striking out 11. With the win Fitzgerald is now a perfect 5-0 on the season. Pitching relief in the game was sophomore Reese Gregory for one inning to go three up and three down. On Saturday (April 12) the Huskies got game one going right away taking a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. SCSU posted their four runs on four hits which included a RBI triple to right field by senior Garrett Fischer. The Huskies continued to move their lead scoring one run in the third and one in the fourth. Michael Jurgella tallied the RBI in the fourth off a single to right field making it a 6-0 game. Jurgella led the Huskies at the plate going 3-for-3 with one run and two RBI. St. Cloud held the Cougars to only one hit in the game, while they posted nine. Pitching a complete seven inning game for the win was senior Chris Kubitz striking out 12 batters. Kubitz moves his season record to 4-1 with the win. In game two, St. Cloud broke the scoreless game posting two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back doubles by Brandon Arnold and Jurgella would score one run with a sacrifice fly by Garrett Fischer for a 2-0 lead. USF and St. Cloud traded runs in the seventh inning but the Huskies would hold on to defeat the Cougars 3-1. SCSU ended the game recording six hits while USF tallied four in the game. Earning the start and the win for St. Cloud was sophomore Garrett Harrison as he pitched 6.2 innings of work and struck out nine batters. Coming in as relief and posting the save after 2.1 innings of work was sophomore Reese Gregory. Harrison is now 1-1 on the season, while Gregory earned his fifth save. The Huskies (25-6, 14-3 NSIC) are set to be back in action on April 17-18 as they play host to Upper Iowa. Thursday’s doubleheader is set to start at 4 p.m. with Friday’s series getting underway at 1 p.m. from Joe Faber Field.
Chris Kubitz (Sr., LHP, Shakopee, Minn.) pitched a complete seven inning shutout for the Huskies on Saturday (April 12) in game one to earn a 6-1 win striking out 12 batters. With the win he moves his record to 4-1 on the season. Kubitz went six of seven innings without giving up a hit and only allowed one in the game. On the season, Kubitz holds a 1.69 earned run average in 37.1 innings of work for St. Cloud.

Upper Iowa
Dickson Paz (P/UT, 5-11, 180, So., Maracaibo, Venezuela) threw a complete game in game two on Saturday.  Paz allowed only one hit in his final five innings of work to earn the victory.  Paz allowed six hits over his nine innings while striking out thirteen Marauders to improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Peacock baseball team lost three of four last week and Mother Nature took another pair of games off the schedule.  Northern State defeated UIU in a pair of come-from-behind, late-inning decisions (8-5, 4-3) on Thursday before the Peacocks split with U-Mary on Saturday.  Once again, Upper Iowa had a late lead, 3-2, but the Marauders got two runs including the winning one on a walk off rbi-single to lose 4-3.  In the second game, Upper Iowa snapped a five-game skid with a 9-3 win over the Marauders.  Four Peacocks hit over .400 for the week including Cody Booker (.444), Jose Aguirre (.429), Alex George (.429) and Tyler Adams (.400) as the team accounted for a .309 team average.

Wayne State
The Wayne State baseball team struggled during an 0-5 week on road, losing Thursday at Bemidji State 2-1 and 7-3 followed by three losses at Southwest Minnesota State over the weekend - 5-0 and 3-1 on Saturday and 12-3 Sunday.
As a team, the Wildcats struggled offensively hitting just .164 during week.  Freshman outfielder Jake Perez had three doubles during the week, going 4 for 16 at the plate while senior first baseman CJ Nolen and junior third baseman Michael Herman each recording two doubles at the plate.

Winona State
Andrew Geislinger, Fr., 2B, Grand Rapids, Minn. (Grand Rapids) hit .500 with seven RBI in the Warriors’ four games last week. The freshman was 8-of-16 at the plate, recording three doubles while leading the team with seven RBI. He went 3-of-7 with a double and three RBI in the team’s split with Southwest Minnesota State. Geislinger ended the week by having a 5-for-9 performance as WSU swept Bemidji State, doubling twice in game two while driving home four. He slugged .688 while recording a .529 on base percentage. He also scored a pair of runs while also stealing a base.
Will Lundquist, So., P, Burnsville, Minn. (Lakeville South)  pitched a complete game shutout against Bemidji State on Saturday, running his record to 4-0 on the season. Lundquist threw seven innings in the 16-0 Warrior win, scattering six hits while striking out five.



Past NSIC Players of the Week
2/4/14
Player: Marcus O’Neill - Augsutana
Pitcher: Ryan Hamilton   - Augustana
2/11/14
Player: Nolan Johnson - Minnesota State
Pitcher: Jason Hoppe - Minnesota State
2/18/14
Player: Jon Ellis - SMSU
Pitcher: Derek Fischer - Sioux Falls
2/25/14
Player: Max Waletich - Minnesota State
Pitcher: Austin Berntson - Minot State
3/3/14
Player: Zach Hoffmann - St. Cloud State
Pitcher: Chris Kubitz - St. Cloud State
3/10/14
Player: Zach Braun - Bemidji State
Pitcher: Taylor Nawrocki - Minnesota State
3/17/14
Player: Eric Loxtercamp - St. Cloud State
Pitcher: Joe Alexson, SMSU
3/25/14
Player: Alex Fink - Augustana
Pitcher: Eric Browning - Wayne State
4/1/14
Player:  Travis Evanson - Winona State
Pitcher:  Kyle Fischer - St. Cloud State
4/8/14
Player:  Jason Shaul - University of Mary
Pitcher: Ryan Rumpca - Bemidji State
4/14/14
Player: Patrick Rients - SMSU
Pitcher: Chris Kubitz - St. Cloud State (2)