For Immediate Release
Monday, April 11, 2022
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#30 Mary Pardo (OF, 5-7, Sr., R/R, Andover, Minn. / Blaine HS) - Augustana
- Slugged 1.579 while hitting for a .474 average as Augustana went 6-0 over the week
- Recorded seven home runs, 15 RBI, 12 runs scored and stole two bases
- In the Vikings' 13-5 win over Winona State, she tied the school record with three home runs in a single game
- Tallied nine hits over the week

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#17 Mackenzie Ward (RHP, Sr., Clive, Iowa / Valley HS) - Minnesota State
- Went 3-0 last week where she boasted a 0.00 ERA
- Allowed just nine hits, while striking out 28 batters
- Held opposing hitters to a .127 batting average
- Threw an eight inning shutout vs. UMD and followed up with a seven inning shutout against St. Cloud State
- Allowed one unearned run against SMSU in a 2-1 win
- Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week for the fifth time this season 

Other Top Performances - Players
#8 Amanda Parsons (CSP) led Concordia with a .632/.650/1.000 slash line (12-for-19). Half of her hits went for extra bases with 5 doubles and a triple. She led the team with five runs scored, driving in two. Only struck out one time on the week. She is second in NSIC in doubles (12), 4th-leading hitter (.457) and 7th in OPS (1.193). She also is now 6th in career doubles (39) at CSP.
#5 Sidney Zavoral  (UMD), in six games this week, went 8-for-17 (.470) with eight RBIs and two home runs. Additionally, two of her hits were doubles.
Madi Newman (MSU) batted .364 as she led the team in hits with eight. She scored a team-leading six runs and went 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. She scored at least one run in five games as she tallied at least one hit in all six games.
Evey Evans (MSUM) hit .313 for the week with a .353 on base percentage. She was also perfect in the field with 27 putouts and two assists. 
#10 Jamie Odlum (MINOT) led the team with 7 RBIs and 5 stolen bases in six games as she hit safely in all six games for the Beavers. She hit .478 with a double, two triples and a home run for a .826 slugging percentage. 
#7 Kylan Straight (USF) had six stolen bases, including a steal of home. She had a .500 batting average with nine hits, seven runs scored and two walks.  Defensively she made a diving catch to save a run from scoring.   
#14 Jillian Noel (SMSU) hit .421 (8-for-19) over the course of six games, helping the Mustangs go 4-2 against MSU, NSU, and MSUM. She hit two home runs, drove in seven runs, and scored four runs for the Mustangs. She slugged .737 with an OPS of 1.158. She hit a three-run home run to open the scoring in game two against MSUM, and finished the game 2 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
#11 Raven Vanden Langenberg (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 3-3 week in NSIC play, including a split with #18 Minnesota State. She hit .625 in six games with 10 hits in 16 at bats. She tallied one double and one home run for a slugging percentage of .875 with a team-leading seven runs and 14 total bases. She added two walks and two hit by pitches. She went 2-2 on stolen base attempts and recorded nine putouts and nine assists without committing a single defensive error. She scored the go-ahead run in the Huskies 5-2 upset of #18 Minnesota State.
#4 Katie Crogan (UIU) hit her way into the Peacock history books, becoming Upper Iowa's all-time hits leader (226) and adding to a record-breaking season that has seen her set the UIU career mark for hits, doubles (50), home runs (38), and RBI (175). She went 15-for-25 (.600) with 11 RBI, eight runs, five doubles, and two home runs to help UIU win five of six. She hit 3-4 with three runs, two doubles, and two RBI in a win over WSC; hit 4-4 with three RBI, two runs, a homer, and a double against BSU; hit 4-5 with five RBI, one run, one homer, and one double against UMC. She leads the NSIC in batting average (.505), slugging percentage (.956), on-base percentage (.570), and RBI (48).
#13 Kim Vidlak (WSC) posted .522 average in six games during the week going 12 for 23 with 12 RBI. She had five multi-hit games and was 4 for 4 with three stolen bases, two RBI and two runs scored in 10-8 loss to Minot State Saturday. She went 2 for 4 with triple and three RBI in 13-6 Sunday win vs. UMary. Was 2 for 4 with three RBI and a double vs. Minot State Saturday. For the week, had .560 on-base percentage and .696 slugging percentage.
#5 Abbie Hlas (WSU) put together an impressive week at the plate and in the pitcher's circle for Winona State, as the Warriors went 4-2. She was 10-for-18 at the plate with 4 RBI. She hit one home run and three doubles. She drew a walk and stole a base, scored five runs. She went 2-1 as a pitcher, including two, 3-hit games. Both wins were complete game efforts, including a shutout win.

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
Amber Elliott (AUGIE) tallied a 3-0 record in the circle while giving up no runs to improve to 10-2 on the season. Over the 14.1 innings, which included a complete-game three hitter, she struck out 18 batters. Outside of the seven inning effort, the contests were run-rule victories.  
#20 Nicole Eckhardt (UMary) pitched 8 innings in a doubleheader against UMC and allowed zero runs, including a five inning shutout performance. She pitched 7.2 innings against Augustana over the doubleheader and allowed only one run. She pitched six and two-thirds against Wayne State College and gave up four earned runs.
#20 Sam Pederson (UMD) posted a perfect 3-0 record on the week as she gave up just six runs in 19.0 innings of work. She recorded 13 strikeouts and pitched a complete game shutout against No. 18 Minnesota State, limiting the Mavs to just four hits.
Trinity Valentine (MINOT) led the way for Minot State, picking up a win pitching in four games, starting two. She struck out five opposing batters and allowed just 3 earned runs for a team-low 2.33 ERA on the week.
Karlie Miller (SMSU) went 2-1 with a microscopic 0.87 ERA in 17 innings, dropping a game to Minnesota State before defeating Northern State and MSU Moorhead. Gave up just two earned runs on 14 hits and 10 walks while striking out 15 hitters and holding the opposition to a .237 average. She went seven innings, allowing just two earned runs and striking out eight against the Mavericks on Tuesday. She gave up three hits and two walks while striking out four in five innings against MSUM on Sunday. 
#22 Sydney Wilcox (UIU) went 3-0 in four starts with a 2.43 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 23.0 innings to help UIU go 5-1, including a 1.31 ERA over a 4-0 UIU stretch. She earned a complete game win over WSC while adding an RBI in each game of the doubleheader. She earned a complete game win over BSU with five strikeouts and two earned runs before starting game two and pitching three innings to combine with Abby Buckman for a shutout win. She tied a season-high with six strikeouts against UMC, giving up one earned run in six innings before hitting 2-4 with three RBI, two runs, and her first career triple in game two.
Liz Pautz (WSU) earned a 2-1 week in the circle for Winona State, including two impressive outings at home over the weekend. She racked up strikeout totals of 8, 9 and 13 K's in three complete games. She threw a 3-hitter vs. Minnesota Crookston. In 17.2 innings, walked just five batters. In the two Warrior wins, allowed just .5 earned runs across the two games.

 

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
3/14/22
Player:  #12 Delaney Young – Augustana
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward – Minnesota State (2)
3/21/22
Player:  #20 Grace Beseman - Concordia-St. Paul 
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward – Minnesota State (3) 
3/28/22
Player: #22 Sydney Nielsen - Minnesota State
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward – Minnesota State (4) 
4/5/22
Player: #11 Raven Vanden Langenberg - St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #24 Liz Pautz - Winona State (2) 
4/11/22
Player: #30 Mary Pardo - Augustana 
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward – Minnesota State (5) 

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.