For Immediate Release
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#21 Mason Ruhlman (2B, 5-10, 215, R-Sr.. L/R, Algonac, Mich. / Riverland CC) - Minnesota Crookston
- Hit .500 (9-for-18) with a 1.333 slugging percentage after four home runs and three doubles
- Hit a three-run home run, a grand slam and a two-run home run for 11 RBI and eight runs scored
- Had the walk-off home run Saturday against BSU
- Add a game-tying home run in the eighth inning in Sunday's win against BSU

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#37 Ryan Jares (RHP, 6-2, 205, So., R/R, Windsor, Colo. / Windsor HS) - Augustana
-Tossed a complete-game nine-inning shutout against No. 11-ranked Minnesota State last Wednesday
- Allowed just four hits while striking out 14 in a 128 pitch outing against the top team in the conference
- Is now 4-1 on the season with a 1.94 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched

Other Top Performances - Player
#9 Will Olson (AUGIE) hit safely in all five conference games last week and overall went 9-for-17 with five runs scored, eight RBI, one triple and three homers. Olson now leads the conference in homers and slugging percentage and is also hitting .346 with 33 RBI.

#13 Anders Brown (UMD) went 8-19 at the plate with 3 RBI, two extra-base hits, a walk, two stolen bases, and came around to score six times. He recorded a slash line of .421/.476/.526 in five games. He increased his batting average by 19 points on the week. He is currently tied for the team lead in batting average with .330 and leads the Bulldogs in runs scored and RBI.

#1 Joey Werner (MSU)  went 9-for-16 over the course of five games last week. He had eight RBI and four runs scored with a double and two-run home run.

Kaiden Cardoso (MINOT) went 7-for-16 (.437) with six runs scored, a double, three home runs, and nine RBI. He has a hit in each of the last four games with three multi-hit games during that span.

#7 Tyler Cate (USF) hit .455 with five hits in 11 at bats as USF took 2-of-3 from Winona State to retain a spot in eighth place in the league standings. This week Cate had three runs scored and six RBI with 10 total bases and had a two-run triple and three-run home run (the second of this year and his career). He slugged .909 and had an OBP of .538 in three games. During the three games he had two hits twice and set a career best with four RBI in USF’s 6-4 win over Winona State in game two. In game one he had two hits and two RBI which came with a clutch two-run triple in the sixth inning of a 6-4 win.

#7 John Nett (SCSU) posted a marvelous week in the leadoff spot for St. Cloud State, leading the Huskies to a critical 4-1 record on the road with a midweek split at Minot State and a weekend sweep of Northern State. Nett slashed .600/.708/.867 for a 1.575 OPS and a .635 wOBA, picking up a hit in all five games with three multi-hit performances to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Nett scored nine runs, doubled and homered once, drove in six and stole two bases. The leadoff hitter posted an 8:3 BB:K ratio, drawing walks in a whopping 33.3% of his plate appearances to set the table for an SCSU lineup that scored at least six runs in all five games. In the field, Nett played an errorless 15 chances between centerfield and second base while turning an incredible double play on a great running catch in the alley and a bullet outfield assist to first at Minot State.

#14 Austin Savary (WSU) went 3-for-8 in two games against Sioux Falls over the weekend, hitting a home run and a double. He had three RBI and scored three times himself for the Warriors. He also notched a stolen base.

Other Top Performances - Pitcher  
#13 Austin Wagner (UMary) shut down the Southwest Minnesota State offense in the Marauders 7-0 win on Saturday. He allowed no runs on two hits in six innings to win his second straight game. He walked one and struck out four. He has pitched 12 straight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while recording 15 strikeouts during that stretch.

#5 Nick Altermatt (MSU) threw six complete innings of one-run (unearned) four-hit baseball against Augustana, April 28. Altermatt struck out six while never surrendering a walk.

#9 RJ Martinez (MINOT) struck out a career-high 10 batters against Minnesota Duluth on May 1. He tossed 5.0 innings to earn his third win of the season. Martinez threw 116 pitches and limited the Bulldog offense to four earned runs.

#15 Keenahn Coyle (USF) won his second straight game with a second straight complete game in a 6-4 win over Winona State. He threw seven innings and allowed six hits and one earned run with a career-high nine strikeouts and had a 1.29 ERA in the outing. He moved to 3-1 on the year and his win helped USF win the series against Winona State and remain tied for 8th in the NSIC standings.

#12 Matt Osterberg (SCSU) went 6.0 innings of four-hit, two walk baseball while allowing just two earned and striking out eight batters. The southpaw earned his third win of the season and has fired a quality start in each of his last three outings.

#24 Hunter Wienhoff (WSC) fired a complete game win allowing just one run in 7-1 win Saturday at #16 Augustana. He struck out eight with no walks and allowed eight hits and one earned run. He had 116 pitches in complete game win with 90 strikes in just the second complete game this season for WSC.

#38 Dillon Whittaker (WSU) earned a win over Sioux Falls on Sunday, his second of the year. Whittaker halted a 7-game winning streak for the Cougars, throwing five and one-third innings, striking out three, walking two and conceding four runs. With the win, the Warriors moved to 21-14 on the year, 18-12 in the NSIC.
 

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
4/5/21
Player: #7 Sam Baier - Augustana
Pitcher: #16 Seth Brewer - Northern State
4/13/21
Player: #42 Christian Kuzemka - Augustana
Pitcher: #37 Jonathan Draheim - University of Mary
4/20/21
Player: #3 Carter Howell - Augustana
Pitcher: #16 Seth Brewer  - Northern State (2)
4/26/21
Player:   #16 Jake Shusterich  - St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #12 Matt Osterberg - St. Cloud State
5/4/21
Player: #21 Mason Ruhlman - Minnesota Crookston
Pitcher: #37 Ryan Jares - 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.