For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#10 Jamie Odlum (1B, 5-6, Sr., L/R, Morden, Man. / Morden Collegiate Institute) - Minot State
- Earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Desert Stinger tournament
- Went 10-for-15 for a .667 batting average with five RBI and five runs scored
- Recorded two hits in each of the five games played
- Added four doubles for a .933 slugging percentage
- Stole three bases and walked twice
- Added 34 putouts and one assist in the field

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#9 Meghan Anderson (RHP, Jr., R/R, Verona, Wis. / Verona Area HS) - Northern State
- Threw two complete games versus Dickinson State and College of Saint Mary
- Tallied 30 strikeouts with a 0.93 ERA in 15.0 innings of work
- Tied the single game school record of 15 strikeouts in both outings
- Gave up just six hits with a .118 opponent batting average

Other Top Performances - Players
#17 Alexa Christenson (BSU) batted .500 with eight hits to lead the Beavers at the Kelly Laas Softball Tournament to begin her collegiate career. She totaled two RBI with three doubles and one triple. She had a slugging percentage of .813 and on-base percentage of .556.
#6 Claire Zbylut (NSU) led Northern State hitting .500 in their 4-0 opening weekend. She tallied six hits, including a double and homerun. She added four RBI and four runs scored. She notched an .833 slugging percentage and .600 on base percentage and recorded five putouts and one assist on defense.
Kait Van Der Zwaag (USF) opened the season with strong performances in the field and on the mound for the Cougars. USF finished 1-3 but Van Der Zwaag hit .364 with four hits in 11 at bats and two runs scored with four RBI and eight total bases. She registered a .727 slugging mark with a .533 OBP and had a stolen base to go with her first home run of the season - a three-run shot against SCSU (7-5 loss). In addition, she had two-game starts on the mound and worked 11 innings with five earned runs and eight strikeouts while registering a 3.18 ERA.
#16 Sophie Culhane (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 3-1 weekend by going 7-13 (.538) at the plate with three RBI. She went 3-3 with a run and RBI in St. Cloud State’s 4-0 win over Bemidji State to open the season. She went 1-3 in wins over Sioux Falls and SMSU. She converted the go-ahead suicide squeeze to clinch the 7-5 win over the Cougars for the Huskies. She was St. Cloud State’s top hitter in the 8-4 loss to SMSU as she went 2-4 at the plate.
#4 Katie Crogan (UIU) hit 4-7 (.571) with seven runs batted in, three runs, and two home runs over three games at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic to open Upper Iowa’s season. She went 1-2 (.500) and put UIU ahead 3-1 with a three-run homer in the third inning against Emporia State. She added another three-run round-tripper while hitting 2-3 (.667) with two runs and four RBI against Northeastern State, including an RBI in the bottom of the seventh that brought the tying run to the plate and saw UIU come up just short of a seven-run comeback in a 10-8 loss.
 
Other Top Performances - Pitcher
#10 Stella Dolan (BSU) led the Beavers’ pitching staff with a 1.84 ERA in 19.0 innings and posted a 1-1 record at the Kelly Laas Softball Tournament in St. Cloud. She earned 10 strikeouts over four appearances and pitched one complete game.
#8 Evie Stuck (UMC) pitched in two games this past weekend. She threw a complete game in a win over Dordt College as she struck out a career-high 10 against the Defenders. She holds a 1.94 ERA on the season.
Trinity Valentine (MINOT) earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Desert Stinger tournament, picking up 2 wins and striking out 10, while pitching in all 5 games for the Beavers.
#15 Trinity Junker (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 3-1 start to the 2022 season at the Kelly Laas Tournament. She surrendered just two earned runs and 13 hits in 16.0 innings of work. She opened the year with a 4-0 shutout of Bemidji State where she tallied a career-high 17 strikeouts and accounted for 18 of 21 outs in the game. She pitched three innings in a 7-5 win over Sioux Falls and  gave up just one unearned run and two hits. She closed the week with a 4-2 victory over SMSU where she gave up two runs in six innings and tallied five strikeouts, bringing her weekend total to 24.

NSIC Softball Players of the Week
2/8/22
Player: #12 Jordyn Thomas - Minnesota Duluth
Pitcher: #20 Sam Pederson - Minnesota Duluth
2/15/22
Player: #10 Jamie Odlum - Minot State
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 24 team national championships and crowned 81 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 can 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.