For Immediate Release
Monday, April 19, 2021
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#30 Mary Pardo (OF, 5-7, Jr., R/R, Andover, Minn. / Blaine HS) - Augustana
- Hit .471 (8-for-17) as the No. 1 Vikings went 6-0
- Of her eight hits, five went for home runs
- As the Vikings’ leadoff hitter, she opened three games with a home run
- Scored 11 runs, tallied seven RBI, earned seven walks and stole six bases
- Had a 1.353 slugging percentage and a .640 on base percentage 
- Led the NSIC last week in home runs (5), runs scored (11), total bases (23) and stolen bases (6)

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#17 Mackenzie Ward (RHP, Jr., R/R, Clive, Iowa / Valley HS) - Minnesota State
- Went 3-0 as a starter, throwing 20 scoreless innings while only allowing a total of eight hits
- Struck out 37 batters in 20 innings of work for an average of 1.85 k’s per inning
- Only allowed a single hit with runners on base to limit the opposition to a .056 batting average
- Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season (3/8/21 & 4/5/21) 

Other Top Performances - Players 
#22 Kaylee Kannegiesser (UMary) hit two home runs and drove in four RBI against Wayne State. Kannegiesser went 5-for-8 and helped lead the Marauders to their first sweep of the season.

#22 Sydney Nielsen (MSU) led the Mavericks hitting .450 on the week with a team high nine hits to go along with two doubles a triple and a double for an .800 slugging percentage. She hit .750 with runners in scoring position and successfully advanced runners 9-of-11 times as the Mavericks went 5-1 including sweeps of Minnesota Duluth and Concordia-St. Paul.

#3 Lenora Watso (MINOT) recorded three hits against Wayne State on Sunday in game two of a doubleheader against the Wildcats. She is currently on a four-game hitting streak with two multi-hit games during that time, hitting 7-for-9 (.778) with three RBI during that time. She stole five bases over the past weekend (4 games) against Augustana and Wayne State. During that time, she has improved her season-batting average from .250 to .319. She has reached base in seven consecutive games.

#11 Elly Smith (NSU) led Northern State hitting .750 versus Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. She tallied eight hits, including one homerun. She amassed three runs scored, two RBI, and a 1.125 slugging percentage. She had  25 putouts and two assists defensively, without an error. She is on a seven game hit streak. 

Mika Rodriguez (USF) was 8-of-10 for an .800 batting average and had eight RBI and five runs scored. A senior shortstop, Rodriguez had a 1.300 slugging mark plus and .800 OBP while fielding 1.000 with six putouts and three assists as the USF Softball Team won 2-of-3 games to move into eighth place in the NSIC league standings. During the run of three games, Rodriguez had a personal best five RBI in a 14-0 win over MSUM. She had three hits twice and added three RBI as USF stopped Northern State’s seven game winning streak in a 14-2 game two win on Saturday. She also hit her third home run of the season and 16th of her career. Over the past 10 days, she has jumped her average .130 points.

Bailey Johnson (SMSU) hit two home runs throughout the week with hitting a solo homer in game two against No. 1 Augustana. The second was hit against Northern State in game one where the three-run home run would put SMSU back in the lead and eventually win game one. Johnson would total six hits, three runs and four RBIs on the week.

#14 Megan Conrads (SCSU) led the Huskies with a .308 batting average over the weekend, which included a 6-1 win over No. 18 Minnesota State. She went 4-13 at the plate with one double and a team-leading three RBI. Additionally she went 2-2 on stolen base attempts and was 2-for-4 at the plate with one run and two RBI in the team’s 6-1 win over the Mavericks.

#4 Katie Crogan (UIU) hit 5-13 (.385) over the weekend as she helped UIU pick up a pair of victories. She notched a double and a run in a 4-1 win over Minnesota Crookston. She hit 3-4 (.750) against Bemidji State in game one as she recorded two runs, two RBI, a double, a single, and the walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth to give UIU a 9-1 win.

#5 Abbie Hlas (WSU) was a major offensive catalyst for her team in a pair of NSIC sweeps over the weekend. Hlas was 5-for-12 at the plate, scored three runs and drove in a pair of RBI as the Warriors went 4-0 on the weekend. With the pair of sweeps, WSU moves into second place in the NSIC standings.

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
#50 Elliott Amber (AUGIE) tallied a perfect 3-0 record for the No. 1 ranked Vikings. She hurled 15 innings, meaning all three games she pitched were run-rule wins. She struck out 15 hitters, walked just three and gave up just 11 hits while securing a 0.93 ERA. She leads the NSIC with 14 wins.

#23 Kali Kaestner (CSP) pitched in four of the Golden Bears six games, making two starts. She allowed only two earned runs and only three extra base hits in 21 innings of work. She struck out 25 batters in 21 innings. She picked up three wins while pitching two complete game victories.

#20 Trinity Valentine (MINOT) made four appearances over the past week. She earned one win to cap the week with a dominant 7.0-inning start against Wayne State on Sunday. Valentine struck out five batters while tossing 106 pitches in the win. Valentine struck out 15 batters over the span of four games. Against Minnesota Duluth,  she tossed 2.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. On Apr. 17, she put forth a strong start against No. 1 Augustana, with four strikeouts over a complete-game 7.0 innings.

Megan Cull (SMSU) had 11 strikeouts helping her team split with both MSU Moorhead and NSU. She would start in game one of both doubleheaders pitching all six innings against the Dragons in the close 2-1 loss. Cull would only allow two runs and five hits in Saturdays game. On Sunday Cull would be in the circle for four innings throwing five strikeouts to help the Mustangs take the 10-7 win against NSU.

#19 Kylie Thomsen (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 6-1 victory over No. 18 Minnesota State, surrendering just one earned run on five hits in a complete game effort. She tallied two strikeouts in the win over the Mavericks and did not walk a single batter. She currently leads the team with a 2.01 ERA and seven wins.

#14 Abby McKay (UIU) went 2-0 in a pair of complete game wins against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. She recorded 20 strikeouts in 11 innings of work on Apr. 17, striking out a season-high 12 batters while allowing just one run and two hits in a 4-1 win before coming on for four shutout innings of relief in game two where she struck out eight more. She had five strikeouts and allowed just one run and one hit in a 9-1 (6 inn.) win on Apr. 18.

#3 Jordyn Kleman (WSU) pitched her program record ninth no-hitter on Saturday in a 8-0 shutout win over Bemidji State. Kleman faced 17 batters, earned 13 strikeouts and picked up her fourth shutout win of the season. On Sunday, Kleman was in the circle for another complete-game win, holding Minnesota Crookston to four hits across seven innings while striking out 13 Golden Eagles. With the pair of wins on the weekend, Kleman moves her 2021 record to 14-3.
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
4/19/21
Player: #30 Mary Pardo - Augustana
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward  - Minnesota State (3)

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.