For Immediate Release
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#18 Jimmy Heck (2B, 6-5, 225, Sr., St. Louis Park, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret HS) - Minnesota Duluth
- Hit .591 on the week with a 1.364 slugging percentage and .667 on-base average
- Amassed 13 hits, 12 RBI and five homeruns while scoring 10 runs and adding a triple
- Walked five times and struck out just once in 27 plate appearances
- Pitched 2.0 innings, striking out one without allowing an earned run in two appearances
- Picked up a victory when he helped himself out at the plate, launching a game-winning walk-off home run in a 13-12 win over CSP to complete a 3-for-4 game where he scored four runs
- Followed up his game-winner with a 3-for-3 game, driving in three runs on a home run and a triple, drawing two walks including an intentional walk
- Hit three home runs in Wednesday’s doubleheader against Southwest Minnesota State, going 5-for-9 with four runs scored and five runs batted in against the Mustangs
- Had multiple hits and multiple RBI in 5-of-6 games while raising his season batting average by 30 points (.435 to .465) over the course of the week
- UMD went 6-0 last week with two wins over SMSU and a four-game sweep of Concordia-St. Paul

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#37 Michael Letkewicz (RHP, 6-4, 215, Sr., R/R, Waterloo, Iowa / Columbus Catholic HS) - Augustana
- Went seven innings, allowing one run on six hits in a 5-1 win over No. 1 St. Cloud State
- Worked out of jams with runners on third in back-to-back innings to keep the Huskies at one run
- Posted an era of 1.29 while striking out five batter and allowing just two base on balls
- Improves to 3-1 record on the season

NSIC Team Notes
Augustana
- The Vikings went 2-2 over the weekend against No. 1 St. Cloud State
- The Vikings had a team batting average of .303 on the weekend
- Lucas Barry led the Vikings with two home runs and 9 RBI
- Michael Letkewicz went seven innings giving up one run on six hits in a 5-1 win
- Augustana is the first team since 2014 to defeat SCSU in consecutive games
- With the Vikings Sunday sweep of SCSU, Augustana earned its first two wins overall No. 1 ranked team in program history
- The Vikings are now sole owners of first place in the NSIC with a 13-3 mark
 
Bemidji State
- Bemidji State was swept in a two-game series versus Minnesota Crookston before taking a four-game series against Sioux Falls, 3-1
- Outfielder Tyler Nelson and designated hitter/pitcher Logan Riedel each totaled multiple RBI in the game one win against USF before catcher Mason Cisneros hit a walk-off RBI single to take game two
- Outfielder Scott Litchy hit two home runs to take game four and the series against the Cougars, finishing with five RBI in the game
- Nelson reached the top of the Bemidji State single-season hit list with 63 hits after a four-hit effort in day two versus Sioux Falls
- Third baseman Joey Hanowski became the program’s all-time hits leader with 188 after a four-hit performance in the final day of the series against Sioux Falls
- Riedel finished with a 1-0 record after three appearances on the mound and totaled a 1.93 ERA, three strikeouts, three hits and an opposing batting average of .176 in 4.2 innings pitched   

Concordia-St. Paul
- Concordia opened last week with a 7-5 win at No. 1 St. Cloud State to improve to a program record 9-1 in the NSIC and 16-3 overall
- The Golden Bears dropped the next five games to close the week including a four-game sweep at UMD
- Ryan Poppitz hit .421/.455/.737 (8-19) with two home runs and four RBI
- Isaac Hormann hit his first college homer at SCSU, hitting .313 and slugging .688 (5-16) with three doubles, a homer and four RBI on the week
- Concordia opens a 10-game homestand on Wednesday against Northern State
- The Golden Bears are 43-10 all-time against NSU, 20-2 at home and have won nine in a row at Barnes Field against the Wolves dating back to May, 2008
- Concordia hosts Minnesota State this weekend with a 4-24 all-time record against MSU including 0-6 at Barnes Field
- The Mavericks have won seven straight against CSP dating back to April, 2012. MSU hasn’t been to Barnes Field since 2011

U-Mary
- The Marauders were 1-4 on the week, including a 1-0 loss at NCAA Division I North Dakota State and 3-1 loss at Winona State in a series originally scheduled for Bismarck
- Nick Stobbe earned his first win of the season after holding the Warriors to one unearned run in 5.1 innings, walking one and striking out six
- Brad Meyer gave up a lone single in three innings of relief to gain his first save in the Marauders 7-1 win. He also was 3-for-6 with a double on Monday
- Zach Steckler recorded a 2.92 ERA in two starts and 12.1 innings, striking out seven, walking two and allowing nine hits
- Tom Imholte ranked 15th in NCAA Division II in both batting average (.444) and on base percentage (.529) in stats thru Sunday
- Jason Shaul leads the nation in on base percentage (.566) and 27th in batting average (.435) in stats compiled though Sunday
- Trenten Hove was 4-for-4 in the Marauders 7-1 win over WSU to set a career-high in hits
- The Marauders host No. 1 St, Cloud State on Wednesday and Minnesota Crookston this weekend
   
Minnesota Crookston
- Minnesota Crookston had a big week going 5-1
- The Golden Eagles are currently in fourth place in the NSIC at 11-4
- Jarad Nelson was 2-0 in 11.1 innings pitched with wins over BSU and UIU
- Colton Haight hit .529 for the week with one double, two triples and two home runs
- The Golden Eagles have 32 wins in two years
- The Golden Eagles will play Minnesota Duluth in a key mid-week doubleheader Wednesday
- UMC will then head to U-Mary for four games this weekend

Minnesota Duluth
- UMD extended a six-game winning streak in sweeping a four-game series against Concordia-St. Paul this weekend
- Alex Wojciechowski hit four home runs, moving himself into sole possession of first place all-time at UMD with 40 in his career
- His 20 long bombs this season leads the nation and have shattered the Bulldog program record for a single year
- Wojciechowski hit .500 with a 1.278 slugging percentage, drawing eight walks last week to extend a 25-game streak of reaching base.
- Despite the record-setting weekend for Wojciechowski, it was senior second baseman Jimmy Heck who led UMD in most offensive categories, hitting .591 with a 1.364 slugging percentage and .557 on-base average
- Heck had 13 hits in 22 at-bats, drove in 12 runs, and crossed the plate 10 times
- Bo Hellquist continued his streak of going 5.0-plus innings in every start this season, tossing 6.0 innings and picking up his team-leading fifth victory of the season while striking out nine Golden Bears  on Saturday
- UMD will continue its homestand this week as the team hosts Minnesota Crookston at Bulldog Park
- The Bulldogs are 39-2 all-time against the Golden Eagles, who are on the rise and in the upper echelon in the NSIC this season

Minnesota State
- The Mavericks moved to 18-11 (9-6 NSIC) after splitting a double header last Wednesday with Augustana, winning the first game 6-2 followed by a 10-4 loss to the Vikings in Mankato
- Junior Eric Peterson ranks in the top five on the team in a number of different categories including batting average (.365/1st), slugging percentage (.556/2nd), OBP (.511/1st), runs (39/1st), and hits (36/2nd)
- Sophomore Brody Rodning ranks second in the conference with 48 strikeouts this season while fellow sophomore Dalton Roach ranks tied for fifth with 39
- The Mavericks now have four pitchers with four wins each after the first 29 game of 2016
- Minnesota State is now 10-3 when they hit at least one homer in a game and 8-8 when they do not
- The Mavericks have 13-4 record when they are leading after six, a 7-1 record when leading after seven, and a 7-1 record when leading after eight
- Minnesota State is 14-6 on the season when they score first as opposed to 4-5 when their opposition scores first
- The Mavericks start a 12-game road-stand beginning next Wednesday, April 20, as the head to Fayette, Iowa to play the Peacocks of Upper Iowa in a double-header match up

Minot State
-  Minot State had all four scheduled games against Southwest Minnesota State washed out due to Mother Nature
- The Beavers are scheduled to play host to Bemidji State Wednesday at Corbett Field and will travel to Northern State for a pair of double headers Saturday and Sunday

Northern State
- Northern State’s series with Wayne State was cancelled this past weekend due to rainy weather conditions in the Aberdeen area
- The Wolves will hit the road Wednesday for a mid-week match-up with Concordia-St. Paul
- NSU will then return home for a 9-inning game versus in-town opponent Presentation on Thursday and a weekend series with Minot State on Saturday and Sunday

Sioux Falls
-  Josh Rehwaldt hit .462 as USF split six games this last week
-  Rehwaldt had 12 hits in 26 at bats with 2 homeruns  and 11 RBI
- Over past 10 days, USF jumped their batting average from .319 to .342, which is fourth in the NSIC
- Rehwaldt is hitting a team best .434, which is 12th in the NSIC, with three homeruns and 27 RBI as well as a .619 slugging mark
- USF has scored five runs or better in 11 straight games and have 11 games with 10 or more runs in 2016
- USF returns home for a seven-game stretch which begins with Briar Cliff at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night at Harmodon Park
- USF will face Southwest Minnesota State for an NSIC doubleheader at 1:30 p.m., on Wednesday and then face Winona State for a pair of doubleheaders next weekend

SMSU
- SMSU dropped its only two games last week, losing to Minnesota Duluth in Marshall
- SMSU’s four-game series at Minot State was canceled due to weather
- Redshirt freshman Jon Leighton led SMSU in the two games versus UMD, finishing 3 for 6 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI
- Sophomore Cole VanderBeek, junior Tanner Picht and junior Derek Branson all finished with three hits as well in the two games
- Leighton is currently on a team season-long 16-game hitting streak

St. Cloud State
- St. Cloud State went 3-3 on the week, which included wins over NSIC leaders CSP and Augustana
- The Huskies are now 28-4, 13-4 NSIC and received the number one ranking in this week’s NCBWA DII Central Region poll.
- SCSU leads the nation at the NCAA DII level in several offensive team stat categories including best batting average (.387), home runs per game (1.88), doubles per game (3.09), slugging percentage (.656) and scoring (10.8 runs per game)
- Reese Gregory leads the Huskies with 12 home runs and ranks second in NCAA DII baseball this spring with a slugging percentage of .930
- Brandon Arnold ranks second in the nation among DII players with an average of 1.58 runs per game
-  The Huskies have already hit 60 homers this season and only need two more to tie their current team record of 62 homers hits in 2015
- SCSU will continue its 2016 season with a doubleheader at U-Mary on April 20
 
Upper Iowa
- Upper Iowa went 1-5 on the week with the lone win coming by a 14-0 score in game two against Minnesota Crookston
- The Peacocks lost a pair to Sioux Falls 5-4 and 15-11 and three to the Golden Eagles 8-7, 11-4 and 7-1
- Zach Carstens threw the best game of his UIU career for the win getting a complete game, one-hit shutout on Sunday with 6 strikeouts in 7 innings
- As a team, UIU hit .303, but allowed the Cougars and Golden Eagles to his .353
- The Peacocks were only outscored by a combined five runs in the six games while going 1-5
- Jordan Kearns (6-12, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4R), Luis Ravelo (8-17, 2 2B, 2 3B, 8 RBI, 5 R) and Cody Booker (8-18, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R) all had big weekends at the plate for UIU
- Collin Thomas threw well in relief in game four going 4.2 innings without allowing a run and striking out 4 UMC batters on Monday
- The Peacocks are scheduled for a midweek double header with Minnesota State on Thursday in Fayette and a four-game series on the road at Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday and Sunday

Wayne State
- Wayne State split at home versus Winona State (W 15-11, L 21-3) and had road series at Northern State cancelled due to rain
- Curtis Bussard was 5-for-8 (.625) versus Winona State with double, homer, five RBI and three runs scored
- Albert Johnson extended season-high hit streak to 11 games
- Nick McIntee was 4 for 8 with two doubles and three RBI’s
- Spencer Morris pitched team-high 3 1/3 innings of relief to get win versus Winona State
- WSC hosts Augustana Saturday and Sunday in four-game NSIC series

 Winona State
- WSU went 4-2 in six games last weekend, splitting a doubleheader at Wayne State before taking 3 of 4 games versus U-Mary in Winona
- WSU scored 21 runs and had 25 hits in game two against WSC, the most runs WSU has scored in a game since 2012
- Mitch Voter went 5-for-5 in the game two against WSC and batted .542 with five home runs and 11 RBI on the week
- Mitchell Stalsberg struck out a season-high 11 batters and gave up no earned runs in a 6-2 win over U-Mary
- WSU hosts Augustana for a doubleheader Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Loughrey Field

NSIC Players of the Week
2/16/16
Player: Brandon Arnold - SCSU
Pitcher: Sheldon Miks - SCSU
2/23/16
Player: Alex Wojciechowski - UMD
Pitcher: Brett Fanning - UIU
3/1/16
Player: Cody Jenkins - WSC
Pitcher: Reese Gregory - SCSU
3/7/16
Player: Connor Olson - CSP
Pitcher: Jake Johnson - U-Mary
3/14/16
Player: Matt Stubbs - NSU
Pitcher: Kody Knaus - CSP
3/22/16
Player: Lucas Lorenz - NSU
Pitcher: Trevor Buttermore - UMC
3/30/16
Player: Alex Wojciechowski - UMD  (2)
Pitcher: Sheldon Miks - SCSU (2)
4/5/16
Player: Zach Hoffmann - SCSU
Pitcher: Kevin Bolder - SCSU
4/11/16
Player: Reese Gregory - SCSU
Pitcher: Tyus Adkins - UIU
4/19/16
Player: Jimmy Heck - UMD
Pitcher: Michael Letkewicz - Augie