For Immediate Release
Monday, April 12, 2021
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#22 Lauren Oberle (SS, 5-8, Gr., R/R, Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie HS) - Minnesota Duluth
- Hit .667 for the week after going 8-of-12 at the plate as UMD went 6-0
- Scored 11 runs, including four in game two against UMary
- Drove in five runs with two doubles and a homerun on the week
- Earned nine walks in four games over the weekend
- Added three stolen bases and added 11 assists and 10 putouts in the field
- Currently leads the NSIC in slugging percentage (.824), on base percentage (.592), and runs scored (40)

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#9 Meghan Anderson (RHP, So., R/R, Verona, Wis. / Verona Area HS) - Northern State
- Went 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA versus UMary, Bemidji State, and Minnesota Crookston
- Tallied a .116 opponent batting average through 21.0 innings pitched
- Threw a no hitter on Sunday versus Minnesota Crookston, striking out 13
- Recorded 36 total strikeouts in the three wins 
- Dropped her season ERA by nearly one point

Other Top Performances - Players 
Kendall Cornick (AUGIE) hit .636 over four games with seven hits and five runs scored. In game one against CSP, she went 2-for-2 with a double and run scored. She again achieved perfection in the finale against MSU, this time tallying a 3-for-3 mark with three runs scored and two doubles. She also concluded the weekend perfect in the thievery department, going 3-for-3 on stolen bases.

#13 Hannah McCarville (MSU) batted .571 on the weekend with 12 hits, five RBI, seven runs scored, a double and a homer. She hit .500 (8-16) with runners on base including going .571(4-7) with runners in scoring position.

#10 Emma Dummer (MSUM) hitting .389 in six games, with three doubles. The double versus UMC set new MSUM career record. She had .556 slugging percentage for week and scored three runs.

#15 Ashley Fauske (NSU) led the Northern State offense in their 6-0 weekend with a .476 average She recorded a team high ten hits and seven runs scored. She added two doubles, one RBI, and one stolen base. She tallied multiple hits in four of the six games. She is currently on a 9-game hit streak.

#5 Frankie Mickelson (USF) hit .364 in six games for USF Softball. She had four hits, three run scored, three RBI and four total bases with a .364 slugging and .417 OBP.  With her three RBI, she is now tied with Danielle Walker (2015-16) for sixth on USF’s career RBI chart. With her hit on Sunday, she has 140 in career which ranks sixth all-time at USF.

#24 Bailey Johnson (SMSU) earned three doubles in the sweep against Upper Iowa with her second double breaking SMSU’s all time record which was held by Amanda Burkart with 42. Johnson this season has hit 10 doubles and is tied with Kali Tomlinson for leading the team.

#16 Payton Kastenschmidt (UIU) hit .333 (7-of-21) over six games with five runs batted in, two runs scored, and one home run. She hit a three-run home run in the top of the first inning against Concordia-St. Paul on Apr. 6 and helped the Peacocks pick up a pair of wins over USF on Apr. 11 as she went 2-4 (.500) with an RBI in a 3-2 win in game one before driving in the lone UIU run in a 1-0 win in game two.

#6 Kortney Buresh (WSC) hit .455 in six games last week, going 10 for 22 with four runs scored. She had two multi-hit games and hit safely in five of six games. She was 4 for 4 with an RBI and run scored in 8-6 loss to Sioux Falls Wednesday. She went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases in 7-6 9 inning win Sunday vs. Concordia-St. Paul.

#10 Katie Kolb (WSU) earned her 200th career hit this past week, becoming just the 19th Warrior to achieve that mark. Also this week, she became the all-time leader in walks at WSU and currently sits at 127 in her career. Batting leadoff for the Warriors this week in six games, Kolb went 8-for-22, drew two walks and scored three times.


Other Top Performances - Pitcher
Ashley Mickschl (AUGIE) earned a 2-0 record in her two games started including a 3-1 win over No. 20 Minnesota State. In the 8-0 win over Concordia-St. Paul, Mickschl allowed just two baserunners the entire game, giving up two hits in the shutout. In the victory over MSU, Mickschl allowed just the one run and again did not walk a single batter while striking out three. For the weekend her line reads 12 innings pitched, eight hits allowed, three strikeouts, zero walks and a 0.58 ERA.

#17 Mackenzie Ward (MSU) went 2-1 for the Mavericks striking out 25 batters in 19 innings pitched. She pitched a complete game 3-1 victory over the #13 Winona State Warriors on the road, striking out 13 batters and allowing only a single run.

#12 Anna  Lang  (MSUM) had an ERA of 2.95 in 19 innings on week, going 1-2. She fired an eight-inning complete game four-hitter in 2-1 win over Bemidji on Sunday with 12 strikeouts.

Kaitlyn Vanderzwaag (USF) had a 3.46 earned run average and a 3-2 record with four starts, five appearances and a complete game. She pitched 26.1 innings with 22 strikeouts and just five walks. In those six games, she figured in the decision in five of them, including five straight. In fact, she won both ends of the DH against Wayne State when she had consecutive game starts, working 13.2 innings and allowing just five earned runs with 11 strikeouts as USF swept a DH on the road. In the six-game span, she also had four hits with six RBI at the plate and hit the tie-breaking and eventual game winning three-run home run against Winona State for a 9-6 game two win on Saturday. Against No. 11 WSU in G2 (9-6 win), she earned the win by going 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief and had a pair of strikeouts. In an 8-6 come-from-behind win over WSC, she had the game-winning two-run single in the sixth inning and then shut down the Wildcats in the seventh to earn the win.

#11 Shelby Bloemendaal (SMSU) would pitch her first career shutout against Upper Iowa in game two where she would record four strikeouts and only allow six hits.

#14 Abby McKay (UIU) recorded 25 strikeouts in 24 innings over four games with a 1-2 record and 3.08 ERA. She pitched a complete game in which she struck out 10 batters without allowing a walk in seven innings against Concordia-St. Paul in a 5-4 loss. She picked up a 3-2 win over Sioux Falls on Apr. 11 as she struck out six in a seven-inning complete game.

#3 Jordyn Kleman (WSU) became the all-time winningest pitcher in Winona State softball history with her 5-1 win over Southwest Minnesota State. She has amassed 86 victories in her career. Kleman tied the record, previously held by current WSU pitching coach Cyndy Jones, the day before when she led the Warriors to a 6-0 win over the University of Sioux Falls, throwing a one-hitter in the process. Against SMSU, Kleman not only notched the win in game one with a three-hitter in which she struck out nine and walked only one, she then came on in game two to earn the save in a 2-1 Warrior win.
 

NSIC Softball Players of the Week
2/16/21
Player:  #14 Megan Conrads - St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #24 Sydney LaPoint - St. Cloud State
2/23/21
Player: #12 Makenzie Merritt  - Northern State
Pitcher: #23 Trinity Valentine - Minot State
3/1/21
Player: #20 Kendall Cornick - Augustana
Pitcher: #16 Alissa Alvarado - University of Mary
3/8/21
Player: #12 Jordyn Thomas - Minnesota Duluth
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward - Minnesota State
3/15/21
Player: #7 Libby Neveau - Winona State
Pitcher: #14 Liz Pautz - Winona State
3/22/21
Player: #10 Torri Chute - Augustana
Pitcher: #20 Stephi Dullum  - Bemidji State
3/29/21
Not Awarded
4/5/21
Player: #20 Grace Beseman - Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward  - Minnesota State (2)
4/12/21
Player: #22 Lauren Oberle - Minnesota Duluth
Pitcher: #9 Meghan Anderson - Northern State

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.