For Immediate Release
Monday, April 5, 2021
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#20 Grace Beseman (IF/C, 5-8, So., R/R, Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Led the Golden Bears to a 4-0 weekend to open conference play
- Hit .692 on the weekend, collecting a total of nine hits
- Drove in nine runs while hitting a home run and two doubles for a 1.077 slugging percentage
- Scored five runs and stole a base during the four games
- Is tied for sixth in the NSIC with five home runs on the season

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#17 Mackenzie Ward (RHP, Jr., R/R, Clive, Iowa / Valley HS) - Minnesota State
- Went 2-0 on the weekend while striking out 24 batters in 14 2/3 innings of work
- Struck out a career high 16 of the 22 batters faced over six inning in a 6-0 win over U-Mary
- Only allowed one earned run and two walks in four appearances

Other Top Performances - Players 
#30 Mary Pardo (AUGIE) hit .391 while helping Augustana to a 7-1 record over the past week.  She tallied four home runs over the span along with 10 RBI and with a keen eye at the plate, was walked five times against just three strikeouts. In the Vikings’ game two win over UMD, Pardo tallied two home runs in the third inning while the Vikings earned an 8-0, run-rule victory. Of the 23 at-bats she accrued, she scored 12 runs.

#15 Lexi Derrick (BSU) led the Beavers to a 3-3 week by batting .429 with nine hits in 21 at bats. She totaled five doubles and 10 RBI over the week to also lead the team and hit one home run. She led BSU with a .810 slugging percentage and .455 on-base percentage. She went 3-for-4 in game two versus Sioux Falls where she was a triple away from the cycle and hit the game-winning walk-off home run in the eighth inning.

#10 Eryn De Jonge (UMary) went a perfect 4-for-4 with a RBI in the Marauders win over #20 Minnesota State. For the week she hit .391 after nine hits in 23 at bats.  

#2 Carly Esselman (MSU) hit .500 for the Mavericks while scoring four runs and bringing home three RBI out of the lead-off spot. She successfully stole three bases on the weekend.

#22 Miah Hartvigsen (MSUM) hit a team-best .533 for the week helping MSUM to 2-4 start in NSIC play. She had a team-best six RBI for the week with eight hits in 15 at bats. She also reached by walk twice and had hits in five of the six games played.

#19 Kennady Thompson (NSU) led Northern State hitting .619 versus MSU Moorhead, Upper Iowa, and Winona State. She tallied 13 total hits, including two doubles and one homerun. She added a team high 11 RBI and recorded three runs scored. She went 3-for-3 with one run and five RBI in the Wolves 10-3 victory over No. 13 Winona State.

#33 Cassie Van Beek (USF) hit .545 with six hits in 11 at bats and three RBI plus a .583 on-base percentage. In a sweep of Minnesota Crookston, she was 4-of-7 with two doubles and two RBI and a slugging percentage of .857.

#12 Kali Tomlinson (SMSU) finished the week with a .409 batting average on nine hits plating eight runs. Off of her hits she earned four doubles and two home-runs ranking her fourth in all-time career rankings at SMSU with 38 doubles and 25 home runs. She had 19 total bases and earning a .864 slugging percentage throughout the first week of conference play where SMSU went 5-1.

#11 Raven Vadnen Langenberg (SCSU) led the Huskies with a .529 batting average, tallying nine hits in 17 at bats with a double, two home runs, eight RBI and a .941 slugging percentage. She drew three walks and was hit by two pitches during the week, bringing her OBP up to .636. She went 3-4 with two runs and three RBI in St. Cloud State’s 7-6 comeback win over No. 2 Augustana. She hit home runs in the fourth and fifth inning to cut the Vikings lead to 6-5 before tying the game with a single in the bottom of the seventh. She went 3-5 in the doubleheader against Wayne State with one run and four RBI. She tallied 16 putouts and 11 assists in the field with zero errors.

#16 Payton Kastenschmidt (UIU) started all six games for UIU over the week, hitting 10-18 (.555) with four RBI, two home runs and a double. She went 2-3 (.666) with a solo home run to help the Peacocks win 9-1 in five innings against Northern State. She hit 4-5 (.800) with two RBI in UIU’s 12-4 win over MSU Moorhead, including the walk-off RBI single to end the game in the bottom of the sixth.

#10 Katie Kolb (WSU) was 7-for-15 at the plate for the week. She hit her first career home run in the process against Upper Iowa. Kolb, a senior from St. Charles, Ill., led the Warriors to a 5-1 record for the week. Batting leadoff, she drew six walks, scored seven times and had eight RBI.

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
#50 Amber Elliott (AUGIE) tallied a 4-0 record for the Vikings over the week . Two of the victories were shutouts as she tallied just a 0.55 ERA. In all, she gave up just two runs in 25.1 innings pitched. For the season, she owns a 9-1 record in the circle.

#15 Brooke Harder (UMary) pitched eight strong innings in the UMary comeback win against #20 Minnesota State. She went 8 innings and allowed only two earned runs while striking out two batters.

#16 Elyse Cuttic (NSU) threw Northern State’s three wins, notching a 2.83 ERA. She tallied 20 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work. She shut out Upper Iowa and recorded a .264 opponent batting average. She recorded a season high 12 strikeouts in the win over the No. 13 Winona State. She hit .333 with four RBI and four runs scored and went 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI in the Wolves win over UIU.

#22 Hanna Cress (USF) finished 2-1 with a 1.62 earned run average in four appearances while starting two games. She had two complete games and totaled 31 strikeouts across 17.1 innings and allowed just four earned runs. Against Minnesota Crookston, Cress won both ends of DH and in a start in game two her 15 strikeouts in a game represent the most by a USF player since 18 by Amanda Walters against Valley City College in 2014 and is the most in NSIC league play in USF history. In those two games on Friday, Cress had a 0.75 earned run average with six hits allowed in 9 1/3 innings with the 20 strikeouts and just four walks.

#3 Allison Christians (SMSU) had an impressive era of 1.62, and recording 16 strikeouts, while pitching a total of 13 innings in the first week of conference play helping her team go 5-1. She went 1-1 along with two recording two saves; one against Bemidji State and the other against Minnesota Crookston.

#19 Kylie Thomsen (SCSU) posted a 2.42 ERA to open the NSIC season. She made three appearances with a 1-1 record. She pitched a complete game shutout in St. Cloud State’s 8-0 six inning win over Wayne State. She surrendered just four hits over the course of six innings pitched. She tallied 15 strikeouts in three games and walked just five batters.

#14 Abby McKay (UIU) had 23 strikeouts in 23 innings as she appeared in each of UIU’s six games. She made four starts with a 2-2 record over the week as she won her two complete games 9-1 (5 inn.) and 12-4 (6 inn.). She helped UIU win 9-1 in five innings against Northern State as she allowed four hits, one run, and struck out six.

#3 Jordyn Kleman (WSU), with two wins on the week, moved to within one victory of the all-time wins mark in Winona State softball history. The senior from La Crosse Logan High School currently has 84 wins in her career, one away from Cyndy Schubbe’s 85. She also earned a key save in a 10-9 victory over Northern State on Saturday, coming on to pitch the seventh inning with the Warriors hanging on to a one-run advantage. Kleman struck out the side to seal the victory and collect the save.

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


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.