For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release

NSIC Player of the Week
#13 Alex Fink
1B, 6-2, 200, So.,  L/R
Springfield, Minn.
Springfield HS
Augustana

Fink swung a hot bat this past week for the Vikings, helping guide the team to a 4-1 record. Fink started his week off going 3 for 4 with a career tying four RBI in a 16-5 home-opening win against Northwestern (Iowa) on Mar. 19. The Springfield, Minn. native followed that up with two three-hit games in a doubleheader on Saturday against Northern State to open NSIC play. Fink helped Augustana get the sweep and 3-1 series win on Saturday with a 2-for-2 performance in a 6-1 win in game one against the Wolves. Fink also scored two runs in the victory, tying a season high. For the week, Fink had a .579 batting average in five games (11 for 19), had eight RBI, and scored seven runs for the Vikings. The sophomore had multi-hit games in four of the five games.

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#26 Eric Browning
RHP, 6-1, 190, So., R/R,
Lyons, Neb.
Bancroft-Rosalie HS
Wayne State

Browning fired a season-high six innings and struck out a season high 10 batters while allowing just two hits to help the Wildcats blank Minnesota Duluth 2-0 in Sunday’s NSIC opener.  Browning walked only three batters in the start while lowering his ERA for the season to 1.80.  He is now 2-2 on the season and has struck out 27 batters in 20 innings pitched this season.
 

NSIC Baseball Team Notes
Augustana
#13 Alex Fink (1B, 6-2, 200, So., Springfield, Minn. / Springfield HS) swung a hot bat this past week for the Vikings, helping guide the team to a 4-1 record. Fink started his week off going 3 for 4 with a career tying four RBI in a 16-5 home-opening win against Northwestern (Iowa) on Mar. 19. The Springfield, Minn. native followed that up with two three-hit games in a doubleheader on Saturday against Northern State to open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. Fink helped Augustana get the sweep and 3-1 series win on Saturday with a 2-for-2 performance in a 6-1 win in game one against the Wolves. Fink also scored two runs in the victory, tying a season high. For the week, Fink had a .579 batting average in five games (11 for 19), had eight RBI, and scored seven runs for the Vikings. The sophomore had multi-hit games in four of the five games.
#10 Kye Winter (RHP/U, 6-3, 200, Sr., Willow Lake, S.D. / Clark HS) recorded his first complete game of the season in a 6-1 win over Northern State last Friday in game one of a doubleheader. Winter - who upped his record to 2-0 on the year with the victory - tossed all seven innings for the Vikings. The senior from Willow Lake, S.D. gave up six hits and one run. Winter also struck out nine batters, which tied his career high set back in 2011. The senior also gave up no walks in the win.

Bemidji State
#44 Tyler Saeugling (RHP, 6-4, 170, Jr., R/R, Dubuque, Iowa / Ellsworth CC) pitched nine complete innings and fanned eight batters to help guide the Beavers to a 10-3 road victory at Avila University March 23. Saeugling improved to 2-1, as he scattered seven hits in the nine frames and issued only one walk. The junior pitched five shut-out innings before allowing a single run in the sixth and two runs in the ninth.
The Beavers, now 4-7 overall, continue nonconference action Tuesday with a doubleheader at Kansas Wesleyan University (12-14) in Salina, Kan. BSU begins NSIC play March 29-30 on the road at Upper Iowa University.

Concordia-St. Paul
#6 Eric Fasnacht (SS, 5-10, 145, So., Eden Prairie, Minn. / Minnetonka HS) has taken over the NCAA lead in hitting at .561 and on-base percentage at .633 as he went 3-6 with a walk in a two game sweep of U-Mary on Sunday in Wayne, Neb. He’s hit safely in all 12 games for Concordia, leading the Golden Bears to a 10-2 start. In game one, he went 1-2 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored in a 7-1 win. In game two, he went 2-4 with two RBI. He’s also third in the NCAA in runs scored per game, with 17 in 12 games played and he ranks 27th in slugging at .683 (3rd, NSIC).
#5 Zach Rengel (LHP, 6-2, 195, So., Fergus Falls, Minn. / HS) continues to be lights-out early in the year as he went seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits with eight strikeouts in a 7-2 win over U-Mary on Sunday. In three starts in 2014, Rengel is 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA on the year, ranking 11th in the nation in ERA while his 5.21 hits allowed per nine innings leads the league. Hitters are struggling to a .169 average against Rengel this year.
Junior second baseman/outfielder Kyle Dalton has extended his hitting streak to 23 games including the final 11 games from 2013 and he’s fourth in the nation in hitting (.520), 15th in on base percentage (.544) and seventh in runs per game (1.33) … sophomore third baseman Ryan Poppitz leads the nation with 1.75 RBI per game, delivering 21 through 12 games while the slugger is also leading the league in fewest strikeouts with 52 at bats per strikeout which is 10th in the nation.
Concordia is off to a 10-2 start overall and 2-0 in the conference and will play #15 St. Cloud State this Saturday and Sunday at Minnetonka High School’s Veterans Field … the Golden Bears are 9-17-1 all-time against SCSU and 5-12 in NSIC games against the Huskies … last year, the teams split a doubleheader at the Metrodome in NSIC play when SCSU was #9 in the nation before the Huskies eliminated the Golden Bears in the NSIC Tournament in St. Cloud, Minn. in a 2-0 nail biter … Concordia’s 4-2 win last year at the Metrodome snapped an eight game losing streak against the Huskies … in the series, 10 of Concordia’s 17 losses to SCSU have been by three runs or less.

University of Mary
After a site and date change, the University of Mary opened up Northern Sun conference action against Concordia-St. Paul with a doubleheader in Wayne, Neb., on Sunday, March 23. The Golden Bears swept the Marauders 7-1 and 7-2. U-Mary struggled defensively, committing five errors that led to seven unearned runs. Jason Shaul and Andrew Beyer had two hits in the opener and Sam Ingemansen and Trenten Hove posted two hits apiece in game two. Junior lefthander Michael Vollrath retired nine of the first ten hitters he faced and allowed three earned runs in five innings of the second game, giving up no walks and striking out three... After getting in just two of four scheduled games against Concordia before weather issues cancelled the second day, the Marauders picked up two home nonconference games against Mayville State University on Wednesday, March 26. The Marauders return to NSIC play this weekend at Winona State University on March 29-30.

Minnesota  Crookston
The University of Minnesota Crookston wrapped up their Spring Break Trip to Clearwater, Fla. with a non-conference game against Johnson University Florida. The Golden Eagles battled in the game but fell 10-4 to the Suns. Following their return from Florida, UMC opened up NSIC play against University of Sioux Falls at a neutral location in South Sioux City, Neb. The Golden Eagles battled the Cougars to the brink in two of the four games, falling 10-7 after a four-run bottom of the ninth in game two. The Golden Eagles also put up a fight in a 8-7 13-inning loss to the Cougars Monday. The Golden Eagles were led at the plate by Jesse Jennings, who hit .438 (7-of-16) with two runs scored. On the mound, Thane Larson pitched great in relief, going 5.1 innings and giving up just two earned runs on eight hits.
UMC will head to Augustana College for a NSIC series next weekend as they look to improve on their 1-13 mark.

Minnesota Duluth
UMD finished out a series victory taking the final two from St. Michael’s (Vt.) College including a 7-6 victory on Monday. The Bulldogs were 2-3 on the week, picking up another win against Johnson University, Florida while falling to West Chester University of Pennsylvania on their final day at the RussMatt Central Florida Invite. UMD dropped its first two games of the conference season at the hands of Wayne State, and the two teams will meet again Monday to close out the series.
Freshman second baseman Skyler Wenninger hit .417 for UMD, starting four games and coming off the bench in the fifth. He was 5-of-12, scoring a pair of runs while driving in two, knocking a home run and a double on the week. Wenninger slugged .750 and finished 1-1 on stolen base attempts while also knocking in a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore hurler Matt Mattiacci went 1-0 on the week without allowing a run in his seven-inning start against Johnson-Florida. Mattiacci scattered just three hits while striking out four on the day. Opponents batted .136 against him in 24 plate appearances.
As a squad, UMD hit .257/.331/.336 with nine doubles on the week. Bulldog pitchers held opponents to a .242/.308/.294 batting line while posting a 3.69 ERA in 39.0 innings. Errors continued to haunt the Bulldogs as teams collected five unearned runs on 10 UMD errors on the week.
 
Minnesota State
Second-ranked Minnesota State (15-4) swept Southwest Minnesota State this past Sunday to take three of four games in both programs’ conference-opening series this past weekend in Sioux City, Iowa. MSU scored three runs in the first two innings of game one last Friday providing more than enough run support for All-American senior Jason Hoppe who struck out nine in 7.0 innings to improve to 5-0 and collect his first complete-game of the season. The Mavericks lead SMSU 4-3 through seven innings in the second affair behind senior Bryce Bellin who fanned eight across seven innings and did not allow an earned run. However, the Mustangs rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth to take a 7-4 win, snapping a 19-game MSU winning streak over SMSU. The four-game series concluded Sunday due to cold weather in Sioux City on Saturday. The Purple and Gold once again picked up a 3-1 victory in the first game as seniors Stetson Olson and Mike Andries each produced RBI singles in the top of the seventh to break a 1-1 deadlock after senior T.J. Larson struck out eight batters over 5.2 innings of work and senior Chris Williams fanned a pair to earn his third save to date. Game two saw MSU use a nine-run third inning to claim a 10-4 win in a contest that was shortened to six innings due to darkness. Senior Taylor Nawrocki improved to 4-0 with a season-high five punchouts over 5.0 innings, while Andries drove in a team-high three runs and All-American junior Nolan Johnson added two RBI in the game. Minnesota State is scheduled to host Minnesota Duluth at the MSU Baseball Complex this Saturday and Sunday in what would be the Mavericks’ home opener. Saturday’s doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.
Mike Andries (Sr., C/DH, 6-0, 195, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Johnson CC) continues to produce at a high level in his senior season at the heart of the Maverick after going 5-of-13 (.385) against SMSU last weekend to elevate his batting average to .299 this season. Andries scored one run and stroked a three-run double in MSU’s 10-4 win over SMSU last Sunday giving him a team-high four RBI on the weekend and team-best 19 RBI on the season.
Jason Hoppe (Sr., RHP, 6-1, 180, Rice, Minn./Sauk Rapids) elevated his record to 5-0 and registered his first complete game of the season after striking out nine Mustangs and scattering four hits in MSU’s 3-1 series-opening victory over SMSU last Friday. The All-American has now amassed an NSIC-leading 39 punchouts across 32.2 frames with a .230 opponent batting average and 3.03 ERA this season.

Minot State
After going 4-5 at the 2014 Tucson Invitational Games from March 10 through March 16, The Minot State baseball team was not in action this past week. Due to cold temperatures and weather conditions, the Beavers were unable to open conference play against Upper Iowa on March 22 & 23 in Fayette, Iowa. Those games have been officially canceled and will not be made up. Minot State will look to open their 2014 NSIC schedule this weekend as they are schedule to face the University of Sioux Falls in a four-game series in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Northern State
Northern State is coming off a 1-3 opening conference weekend against Augustana last week. The Wolves won game two of the first doubleheader against the Vikings. The win in game two for Northern breaks a 26-game winning streak for Augustana in the series. NSU’s last win before Friday came back in 2005. John Eckstein got the win for the Wolves against AC, improving his record to 2-0 on the year.
Derek Tymesen leads the Wolves with a .407 batting average. Matt Stubbs is second on the squad hitting .347. Stubbs has started all 14 games this season for the Wolves. Riley Shintaffer’s nine RBI leads the team this season.
Northern continues its road trip to begin the season as it travels to face Wayne State this weekend in a four-game set played Saturday and Sunday. Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at 1 p.m. with the Wildcats.

Sioux Falls
The University of Sioux Falls baseball team went 6-2 over the course of the past week to improve to 10-7 overall (4-0, NSIC). On March 17, the Cougars split a twinbill with No. 16 (NAIA) Cal State University-San Marcos and followed that with a split versus the No. 9 (NAIA) Concordia University-Irvine, defeating the Eagles 6-5 on March 18 for the first time in program history before falling to the perennial NAIA power the next day by a 16-0 verdict. The Cougars bounced back from their disappointing spring break finale loss to open NSIC play with a four-game sweep of the University of Minnesota Crookston.  
#29 Derek Fischer (RHP, 6-2,  210,  Sr., R/R, Brandon, S.D. / Brandon Valley HS) went 2-0 last week against No. 9 (NAIA) Concordia-Irvine and Minnesota State Crookston to improve his record on the mound to 3-1. The Cougars’ senior ace tossed scattered 10 hits over 10 1/3 scoreless innings and racked up 10 strikeouts to just a single base on balls for a WHIP of 1.03. The game versus the nationally-ranked CUI Eagles went to extra innings and after Fischer tossed 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, Michael Downs belted a one-out single in the eleventh and advanced to third on a ground out and wild pitch. With the Cougars down to their last out, Ryan Fobes cranked a base hit right down the middle to give USF the 6-5 edge. Fischer then fanned the first two Eagles he faced before inducing a ground out to short to seal the victory. Fischer scattered five hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of long relief.  On Sunday, Fischer clipped the Golden Eagles’ wings in the league opener for both teams, tossing a complete game five-hitter and striking out seven as USF rolled to a 6-0 victory. Fischer got out of a jam in the sixth, when the Golden Eagles singled off him in and loaded the bases with no outs thanks to a pair of Cougar errors, but fellow senior catcher Dylan Dwyer tagged out the runner at home on the ensuing fielder’s choice and Fischer rung up the next two batters to escape without allowing a run. The Golden Eagles led off the seventh with back-to-back singles but Robbie Smothers was caught stealing third to erase just the fourth man that Crookston moved into scoring position in the game. Fischer took care of the final batter on one pitch when Jesse Jennings flied out to center. Fischer’s final pitching line: 7IP, 5H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 7SO. He threw 83 pitches, 53 for strikes, for his fifth career complete game shutout. Fischer ranks 6th in the NSIC in ERA (1.57), third in innings pitched (28.2) and is tied for eighth with 22 strikeouts.
#15 Noah Durkin (OF, 5-11, 180,  So., R/R, Littleton, Colo. / Columbine HS) paced the Cougars at the plate last week to lead USF to a 6-2 record in their last eight contests. The sophomore outfielder went 18-for-36 (.500) to improve his team-leading batting average to .435, which also ranks sixth in the NSIC. Durkin racked up 11 RBI with one homer and three doubles while scoring 12 runs and striking out just twice in 36 trips to the plate. He recorded a 4-for-6, two RBI outing in the Cougars’ 6-5 upset of No. 9 Concordia University-Irvine and finished 2-for-5 with 4 ribbies in a 10-7 victory over Crookston. In yesterday afternoon’s series finale against the Golden Eagles, Durkin doubled off of UMC reliever Thane Larson to lead off the 13th inning and scored the winning run when senior backstop Dylan Dwyer sent a ball soaring into right-center field for sacrifice fly that scored Durkin and gave USF 8-7 win and a four-game series sweep of the Golden Eagles. Durkin ranks sixth in the league in average (.435), tied for 18th in slugging (.522) and ninth in on-base percentage (.466).

SMSU
Junior second baseman Ryan Engels (Watertown, S.D.) batted a team-high .364 (4 for 11) with a double and three RBIs during SMSU’s four-game series versus Minnesota State played in Sioux City, Iowa. Engels had at least one hit in three of the game, including an RBI single in the ninth inning during SMSU’s 7-4 victory in game two of the series. It snapped an 18-game losing streak for SMSU versus MSU, picking up its first win since 2009. Engels also had two hits and two RBIs in game four of the series.
Junior pitcher Jimmy Callahan (Primghar, Iowa) tossed eight-plus innings, scattering 10 hits and allowing four runs (two earned) to pick up the victory in SMSU’s 7-4 win over Minnesota State. The right-hander struck out two, walked two and hit two batters to help SMSU earn its first win over MSU since 2009. Callahan is 3-0 on the season in four starts with a 3.95 ERA in 27 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts.

St. Cloud State
SCSU baseball (13-4, 2-1 NSIC) opened the 2014 NSIC play this past weekend as they took on the Winona State Warriors at a neutral site in Omaha, Neb. due to lingering snow on the ground in Winona. The Huskies fell in the opener on Saturday with a 2-0 loss but then came back to take both games on Sunday over the Warriors 4-3 and 4-1. On Saturday, SCSU outhit Winona State in the contest by a 10-3 margin as Michael Jurgella was 2-of-4 and Zak Hoffman also went 2-of-4 in the contest for St. Cloud. The pitcher of record in the contest for St. Cloud State was senior pitcher Kyle Fischer. In Sunday’s games, the Huskies bounced back for two wins and once again outhitting Winona by a margin of 21-11 in both games. Leading the Huskies in game one was junior Eric Loxtercamp as he went 3-for-4 including a double. Jurgella posted a two-run home run in the first inning, while Zak Hoffman hit a solo home run in the seventh. Senior Sam Boisner had a good game at the plate for St. Cloud in game two as he led the team going 2-for-3 with one RBI, while Kyle Lieser and Garrett Fischer were 2-for-4. Earning the win for the Huskies on the mound in game one was Corey Fitzgerald with 6.1 innings of work and five strikeouts. Fitzgerald improves his record to 2-0 on the season. Reese Gregory came into finish the game for two innings to earn the save. Chris Kubitz earned the win on the mound pitching seven innings in game two and striking out eight, while Gregory earned the save for two innings of work. Kubitz is now 2-0 on the season and Gregory has posted two saves so far this year. The Huskies will be back in action on March 29-30 as they take on Concordia-St. Paul for four games with the first pitch at 12 p.m. both days.
Chris Kubitz (Sr., LHP, Shakopee, Minn.) had a great game on the mound against Winona State in the Huskies second game on Sunday (March 23) as he pitched seven innings. Kubitz allowed only five hits, one run and struck out eight batters in his time on the mound. With the win, he moves his record to a perfect 2-0 on the season. So far on the season, Kubitz holds a 1.61 era in five appearances and 22.1 innings of work.

Upper Iowa
The Peacock baseball schedule has once again been altered due to persistent winter weather and cold temperatures. UIU was set to welcome Lewis University to Robertson Woods Field on Wednesday; the teams have cancelled the double header, but left the door open for a reschedule later in the season if their conference schedules allow the opportunity.  Upper Iowa (7-6, 0-0 NSIC) will hope to resume their schedule and open play in the NSIC this weekend with four games in Fayette against the Beavers of Bemidji State University.

Wayne State
Jake Perez, a 6-4 195 pound freshman outfielder from Hartford, Wisconsin (West Bend East HS), was 3 for 7 a the plate with two doubles and two runs scored in Sunday’s Wildcat sweep over Minnesota Duluth.  Perez was 1 for 3 with an RBI in a 2-0 win in the opener and followed that by going 2 for 4 with two doubles and two runs scored in a 5-3 win in the second game to complete the sweep.  
Perez leads the Wildcats with five multi-hit games this season and ranks second on the team in batting average at .348 after 15 games this season.
Eric Browning, a 6-1 190 pound sophomore righthander from Lyons, Nebraska (Bancroft-Rosalie HS), fired a season-high six innings and struck out a season high 10 batters while allowing just two hits to help the Wildcats blank Minnesota Duluth 2-0 in Sunday’s NSIC opener.  Browning walked only three batters in the start while lowering his ERA for the season to 1.80.  He is now 2-2 on the season and has struck out 27 batters in 20 innings pitched this season.

Winona State
Will Lundquist, P, So., Burnsville, Minn. (Lakeville South) had an outstanding outing for the Warriors, throwing seven shutout innings to help the Warriors post a 2-0 win over St. Cloud State in the team’s NSIC opener. Lundquist scattered just seven hits while striking out one to earn the victory. Joseph Kubera and Scott Freiburger each added a scoreless inning to help preserve the shutout.
Michael Hommes, OF, Fr., Hudson, Wis. (Hudson) led the Warrior offense in its three games against St. Cloud State, going 3-of-11 on the weekend with a home run and two runs scored. Hommes slugged .545 in the three games while posting an on-base percentage of .333.


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