For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#14 Drey Dirksen (C, 6-4, 215, So., R/R, Spicer, Minn. / Wilmar HS) – Augustana
- Batted .563, going 9-of-16 with eight runs scored and a 1.688 slugging percentage 
- Recorded nine hits including six home runs in Augustana's five games last week
- Had 17 RBI in the five wins against Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#20 Tanner Brown (LHP, 6-2, 205, Sr., L/L, Sioux Falls, S.D. / Harrisburg HS) – Augustana 
- Recorded 17 strikeouts in Augustana's 10-0 win over Bemidji State
- Held Bemidji State to just two hits in the win as he improved to 3-0 this season 
- Tied Augustana's single-game strikeout record in the 7.0 inning shutout
- Broke the Augustana record for career strikeouts with 227


Other Top Performances - Player
#23 Ben Goelz (UMC) went 7-of-11 against Concordia-St. Paul, hitting .636. He scored two runs, had two doubles, and four RBI. He had a two RBI double in extra innings in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader to lead the Golden Eagles to a 4-1 win. Goelz went 4-of-4 on Monday against the Golden Bears.
#15 Jack Puder (UMD) went 3-for-6 in a two game series against Augustana. Puder added a run, 2 RBI and a walk in the doubleheader as well. Puder also hit his only home run during game one of the doubleheader.
#20 Matt Malone (MINOT) led the offense with a team-high 9 hits on the week, hitting safely in 4 of the Beavers 5 games. He also drove in 5 runs, had a double, and stole a base on the week for Minot State.
#7 Jack Paulson (NSU) led the Wolves to a 3-1 week, where they split a 2-game series at Concordia-St. Paul and won the first two games in a 3-game series at Upper Iowa. He batted 6-16 with a batting average of .375, and notched three doubles, one homerun, four RBI, and scored two runs. He hit the go ahead, 3-run homerun at Upper Iowa to the lead the Wolves to a 3-2 victory in game one in Fayette.
#4 Noah Christenson (USF) hit .600 to lead USF to a series win against SMSU. He had six hits in 10 at bats with four runs, a double and seven RBI. He slugged .700 with a .538 OBP. Noah Christenson leads USF with a .440 average and team-highs in hits (37), runs (25), RBI (22), total bases (46).
#7 John Nett (SCSU) was 8-for-21 in five games at the plate with 2 RBI, a double, 4 runs scored, and 1 walk. 
#33 Dane Weiland (WSU) drove in the game-winning run in a 4-3 victory over Minot State. He batted .500, going 4-for-8 at the plate with a double and three RBI over the three games. He served as the DH in two contests while doing the catching in a 3rd game. For the five games last week, he hit .333 (5-of-15).  

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
#37 Jonathan Draheim (UMary) pitched 5.0 shutout innings in 6-3 Marauders victory over Minnesota State. He struck out six and gave up just two hits and one walk to earn his first win of season.
#33 Jake Dykhoff (UMC) pitched eight innings in a win Sunday over Concordia-St. Paul in extra innings. He struck out 11 and walked just three. Dykhoff allowed one unearned run, on four hits. He is currently 5-2 with a 1.51 ERA this season.
#19 Ricky Apodaca (MINOT) matched his career-high with 12 strikeouts in 8.0 scoreless innings of work, scattering 2 hits and earning the win for Minot State at Winona State. Also the Beavers designated hitter, Apodaca helped out offensive going 7-for-12 at the plate with a double and an RBI.
#40 Max Otto (NSU) improved to 4-1 on the season with a 4-2 victory at Concordia-St. Paul. He pitched a complete game, allowing only one earned run off six hits and two walks. Otto also threw a career high ten strikeouts in the win.
#5 Caleb Ditmarson  (USF) moved to 3-1 on the season as he was virtually unhittable as he allowed just one hit and had a complete game shutout in an 8-0 win over SMSU on Saturday. He had a career-best 10 strikeouts which bettered his previous best of eight (twice). He walked six batters but held SMSU to a .045 average. In the process he lowered his season earned run average to 2.97 and now has two complete games. In 30.1 innings this year, he has allowed just 24 hits with 35 strikeouts and 11 walks.
#19 Ryan Duffy (SCSU) helped the Huskies defeat Winona State by throwing a 9-inning complete game, allowing only 3 hits. Duffy recorded 13 strikeouts and only 1 walk and 1 earned run.
#15 Nicolas Herold (WSU) notched his second-straight win of the season with a 4-3 victory over Minot State on Sunday. He threw six innings, notching nine strikeouts while scattering six hits with three walks. 
 
NSIC Baseball Players of the Week
2/8/22
Player:  #29 Ben Thoma - Minnesota Crookston
Pitcher:  #33 Jake Dykhoff  - Minnesota Crookston
2/15/22
Player:  #2 JT Mix - Augustana
Pitcher:  #33 Jake Dykhoff  - Minnesota Crookston (2)
2/22/22
Player:  #4 Noah Christenson - Sioux Falls
Pitcher: #40 Max Otto - Northern State
3/1/22
Player: #11 Ben Prediger – University of Mary
Pitcher: #13 Austin Wagner – University of Mary
3/7/22
Player: #6 Colin Lynam – Wayne State
Pitcher: #9 RJ Martinez – Minot State
3/14/22
Player: #5 Nick Altermatt - Minnesota State
Pitcher: #15 Nicolas Herold – Winona State
3/22/22
Player: #4 Jaden Werner – Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: #6 Luke DeGrammont – Concordia-St. Paul
3/29/22
Player: #14 Drey Dirksen – Augustana 
Pitcher: #20 Tanner Brown – 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 25 team national championships and crowned 90 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.