For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#1 Joey Werner (OF, 5-9, 185, Sr., L/R, Hasting, Minn. / Hastings HS) - Minnesota State
- Batted .421 (8-for-19) in five wins, with nine RBI against UMD and UMary
- In a doubleheader with UMD he had eight RBI and two home runs (a three-run homer and a grand slam)
- Scored five runs, added two doubles, a walk and three stolen bases on the week
- Slugged .842 for the week and added five putouts as MSU improved to 11-1, 8-0 NSIC
- Named NSIC Player of the Week for the second week in a row

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#20 Tanner Brown (LHP, 6-2, 190, Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D. / Harrisburg HS) - Augustana
- Tossed the second perfect game in Augustana history Saturday against Minot State
- Accomplished the feat with 11 strikeouts and threw just 86 pitches over seven inning
- Struck out the first six hitters that he faced

Other Top Performances - Player
#1 Jordan Barth (AUGIE) in five conference games in the last four days,  went 8-for-19 with three doubles, two homers, four runs scored and nine RBI. He also played clean in the field and has amassed zero errors thus far in 2021. Overall, Barth is hitting .354 on the year with eight extra base hits and 13 RBI.

#5 Calvin James (UMary) blasted three home runs and drove in five RBI in five games. He was 6-of-16 with five runs scored for a slash line of .375/.476/.938 for an OPS of 1.414. He hit two solo HRs in a 5-3 game one win over Concordia-St. Paul and a 2-run HR in a 9-2 win in game two against the Golden Bears to lead the Marauders to their first doubleheader sweep over CSP since 2008.

Jake Hjelle (UMC) hit .421 in five games with seven runs scored, a double, three home runs, and eight RBI in wins over Sioux Falls and Upper Iowa. He had five RBI and two home runs in a win over Upper Iowa. He posted a .947 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage for a 1.447 OPS. He reached on two walks and had a perfect fielding percentage.  

Ryley Humrighouse (MINOT) drove in three runs in the 8-5 Game-2 victory over Augustana including one double and one home run. He completed the weekend batting .333 (3-9) with two extra-base hits. Humrighouse was solid in the field with six assists over the final two games at third base. He did not commit an error after converting on all eight chances he faced with two putouts.

Ramon Vega Jr.  (NSU) hit .429 and slugged 1.143 in Northern State’s three wins over CSP. He tallied a team high five RBI and notched the game winning RBI in the 1-0 and 3-0 victories. He added two doubles, a homerun, and two runs scored and played perfect defense with six putouts and no errors. 

Ryan Bernardy (USF) helped USF to a 2-3 record by hitting .400 with four home runs and 12 RBI and 21 total bases. He had a 1.050 slugging mark for the five games with a .409 OBP. Bernardy had five runs, eight hits and had a stolen bases. He recorded 28 putouts with four assists and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

#6 Nathan Kuhn (SMSU) batted .500 (10-for-20) in five games played to help SMSU to three road victories versus Augustana and Wayne State. He had 11 total bases in five games with four walks. He scored six runs and had one RBI. Kuhn leads the team batting .487 in 10 games with five doubles and five RBI.

Sam Kohnle (WSU) set the table supremely and delivered timely hitting for Winona State this past weekend, as the Warriors swept UMD. Kohnle was 3-for-6 at the plate for WSU, playing 1st base in two games and serving as the DH in the third. He drew an impressive six walks over the weekend, and scored three times. The Tisch Mills, Wis. product had three RBI for Winona State, who improves to 8-5 overall, 5-3 in NSIC play.

Other Top Performances - Pitcher  
#13 Austin Wagner (UMary) limited the top-hitting team in the Northern Sun to one run in six innings. He held Minnesota State to three hits and one walk while striking out five. In two starts this season Wagner has allowed a combined one run on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 10 innings.

#33 Jake Dykhoff (UMC) went 1-0 and had one save with a 0.00 ERA in eight innings pitched. Dykhoff earned a save against Sioux Falls in a 7-5 win and as he went one inning and allowed one hit and no runs with two strikeouts. He picked up a win over Upper Iowa in a 1-0 victory as he went the complete seven-innings. Had four strikeouts and just one walk and gave up just three hits while holding opponents to a .143 average.

#9 Cam Kline (MSU) pitched a complete seven-inning game on Sunday against UMary in game one of the doubleheader. He started the game off throwing six innings of scoreless no-hit baseball before allowing two hits and a run in the top of the seventh. With the Mavericks’ walk off in the bottom half, Kline got the win and moved to 2-1 this season. In his third start of the season, the MSU right-hander struck out 13 and didn’t walk a UMary batter.

Zach Newman (MINOT) was impressive as he earned his first win of the season against Upper Iowa on Mar. 25. Newman limited the Peacocks to two runs on three hits with one strikeout over 5.1 innings to clinch the 3-2 victory. He induced four ground outs and 11 flyouts as he dodged barrels all day to log an effective start and earn a victory.

Zach Hrvol (NSU) threw a 1-hit, complete game shutout versus CSP. He earned his first win of the season as he struck out four and held the Golden Bears to a .045 batting average. He dropped his season ERA by over 3.00.  

#37 Caleb Ditmarson (USF), in his first career start, handcuffed Bemidji State batters by allowing just three hits across seven innings as he had his first career shutout and complete game on Sunday, March 28 in a 4-0 victory. He recorded seven strikeouts with just two walks in throwing 82 pitches to 24 batters.

#22 John Bezdicek (SMSU) fired a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in SMSU’s 6-0 win on Saturday over Wayne State. He held WSC hitless for 5 1/3 innings before allowing a double. It was his third career shutout and fourth career complete game. Bezdicek ranks first in team history with 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings and is fifth with 174 strikeouts.

#34 Duncan Snider (UIU) provided six scoreless innings against the NSIC's highest scoring offense in a narrow 1-0 loss. Set down four on strikes while allowing four free passes and one base hit against the University of Minnesota Crookston.

#14 Austin Savary (WSU) threw a complete game win for Winona State in the second game of a 3-game series against UMD.  Savary allowed just six hits across seven innings and conceded just one run, which was earned. In facing 31 Bulldog batters, Savary struck out nine, and walked just three.

NSIC Baseball Players of the Week
3/8/21
Player:  #20 Brock Reller - Minnesota Crookston
Pitcher:  #29 Jon Ludwig - Minnesota State
3/15/21
Player:  #20 Brock Reller - Minnesota Crookston (2)
Pitcher:  #22 John Bezdicek - SMSU
3/22/21
Player: #1 Joey Werner - Minnesota State
Pitcher: #10 Griffin Lapp - Concordia-St. Paul
3/30/21
Player: #1 Joey Werner - Minnesota State (2)
Pitcher: #20 Tanner Brown - Augustana

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 23 team national championships and crowned 77 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes have the opportunity to earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.