For Immediate Release
Monday, March 7, 2022
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#10 Kylie Madrid (IF, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.  / Roosevelt HS) – Sioux Falls
- Hit .556 with 10 hits in 18 at bats as USF went 5-0 last week
- Scored eight runs, had two homeruns, nine RBI and a 1.056 slugging percentage
- Added a double and a triple in the five games
- Pushed season average to .360 and OPS to 1.079 with a .640 slugging on the season
- Has registered three multi-hit games in her past four games
- Has had three hits in two of her last four games with home runs in two of the past four games
- Had a career-best four RBI against Holy Family (3 hits, 3 runs)
- Had three RBI and was 3-of-3 in a win over Findlay

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#17 Mackenzie Ward (RHP, Sr., R/R, Clive, Iowa / Valley HS) – Minnesota State
- Boasted a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in a pair of starts
- Did not allow a run to score in 12.0 innings of work
- Struck out 21 of the 43 batters she faced
- Held opposing batters to a .103 batting average
- Threw a three-hit shutout against Southern Indiana as she struck out 12 batters

Other Top Performances - Players
Delaney Young (AUGIE) set a school record with 9 RBI in a single game in AU's game two win over Northwest Missouri State.  The 9 RBI are a single-game high for NCAA DII this season. Over two games, she hit .500 with four hits and three runs scored. Two of the runs scored were from home runs. She recorded a grand slam as one of the two home runs, her second of the season. She boasted a slugging percentage of 1.250 and committed zero errors in the field.

Kiana Bender (UMD) had 8 RBI on 7 hits in 19 at-bats, including a triple and a home run. She had 5 RBI during UMD's 9-6 win over Central Missouri on Saturday.

Madi Newman (MSU) batted .333 in three games this past weekend. She recorded three RBI and one stolen base.

#66 Brooklyn Morrison (MINOT) had a career day in the Beavers doubleheader sweep of Minnesota Crookston, hitting two home runs in a 10-2 win, the first multi-home run game of her collegiate career.

#8 Kaylee Frenette (UIU) hit .500 (4-8) with six runs and three runs batted in, added four walks to compile a .667 on-base percentage, and added a stolen base to help UIU to a 3-0 record and a 34-3 run differential at The Spring Games. She went 2-2 with three runs, two RBI, three walks, and a steal in a 21-0 (5 inn.) rout of Stonehill College on Mar. 5 that saw five Peacocks notch two hits, six tally multiple runs, and 11 record at least one RBI. She scored a run in UIU's 4-2 win over Nyack College on Mar. 5, and hit 2-4 with two runs and one RBI in UIU's 9-1 (5 inn.) win over Nyack on Mar. 6.

Sam Keller (WSU) hit .316 (6-of-19) with a double, a run scored and a pair of walks as WSU went 3-2 over the week.

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
Lauren Dixon (UMD) improved to 5-0 on the season after going seven innings, giving up zero runs and just four hits. She struck out 13 batters during UMD's 3-0 win over Pittsburg State. 
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Trinity Valentine (MINOT) earned her sixth win of the season, second-most in the NSIC, with 5 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings against Minnesota Crookston.

Hanna Cress (USF) was 2-0 with a 0.47 earned run average to lead USF Softball to a 5-0 record at the Spring Games in Florida. Cress had three appearances in the past few days in Florida and tossed two complete games, a shutout, and allowed just one earned run in 15 innings. Cress tossed 15 innings and gave up 9 total hits while registering 10 strikeouts. She is now 5-3 on the season with a 1.70 earned run average and has made 7 starts with 36 strikeouts. In an 8-2 win over Kentucky Wesleyan she had a season-high nine strikeouts and allowed just five hits and one run in a complete game. She also tossed a scoreless inning against NYACK and threw a four-hit complete game shutout in a 5-0 win over Findlay on March 5.

Sydney Wilcox (UIU) picked up a 1-0 record in two starts while throwing nine innings and compiling a 1.56 ERA, eight strikeouts, and no walks. She struck out two and allowed one hit in a two-inning start before being lifted after the Peacocks went up 11-0 through 2.5 innings of a 21-0, five-inning win on Mar. 5 against Stonehill College. She pitched a complete game in a 4-2 win against Nyack College on Mar. 5 while striking out six and allowing two earned runs, eight hits, and no walks. She added the team's only RBI on a sacrifice fly in the 4-2 win while also working a walk.

Liz Pautz (WSU) made three appearances going 1-2 after pitching 20.1 innings with 33 strikeouts.

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
2/22/22
Player: #8 Kiana Bender - Minnesota Duluth 
Pitcher: #24 Liz Pautz - Winona State
3/1/22
Player: #13 Sydney Trees  – St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #15 Trinity Junker – St. Cloud State
3/7/22
Player: #10 Kylie Madrid – Sioux Falls
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 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.