For Immediate Release
Monday, April 18, 2022
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#12 Jordyn Thomas (1B, 5-11, 5th, L/L, Hermantown, Minn. / Hermantown HS) – Minnesota Duluth
- Went 9-for-17 (.529) with four doubles and three home runs for UMD
- Notched a total of nine RBI with six runs scored and three walks
- Launched a grand slam at Upper Iowa on Saturday
- Slugged 1.294 with a .619 on-base percentage 
- Named NSIC Player of the Week for the second time this season 

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#17 Mackenzie Ward (RHP, Sr., Clive, Iowa / Valley HS) - Minnesota State
- Went 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA as she allowed just one unearned run
- Threw two shutouts and allowed just nine hits in 22.1 innings pitched
- Held opposing batters to a .120 batting average
- Struck out 31 batters
- Reached 1,000 career strikeouts, just the second Maverick in program history to do so
- Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this season 

Other Top Performances - Players
Torri Chute (AUGIE) scored 10 runs on 10 hits as the Vikings went 6-0 for the week. She batted .500 for the week with seven doubles and a home run and owned a 1.000 slugging percentage. She is now batting .447 for the year, ranking second on the Vikings, a team that owns a .370 team average.
Cheyenne Behrends (MSU) batted .600 this past week with nine hits in 15 at bats. - Drove in nine runs and scored eight runs. - Posted a 1.067 slugging percentage. - Went 3-for-3 in stolen bases. - Recorded at least two hits in three games.
#7 Annika Norman (MSUM) hit .400 for the week with a double and two RBI and a slugging percentage of .500. She had a career-high three hits in Game 2 win over Wayne State on Friday. 
#7 Holly Weinberger (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 4-2 week, including sweeps of Minnesota-Crookston and Upper Iowa.  She hit a team-leading .524 with 11 hits in 21 at bats including three doubles and a home run. She added five runs, six RBI and 17 total bases while slugging .810.
#4 Katie Crogan (UIU) hit .500 (10-20) with seven runs, 12 RBI, and four home runs for a 1.100 slugging percentage while working three walks for a .565 on-base percentage. She went 3-5 with two runs, five RBI, and two homers in game one against No. 18 Minnesota State. She hit 3-4 with three runs, five RBI, and two round-trippers in game two against St. Cloud State to break Upper Iowa's single-season HR mark. She continues to lead the NSIC in batting average, RBI, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage while ranking second in hits and homers.
Kim Vidlak (WSC) posted a .571 average in six games during the week, going 12 for 21 with 10 runs scored. She extended her hit streak to 11 games and had four multi-hit games. She was 3-4 with a HR, a double and two RBI in 5-4 win over SMSU Tuesday. She went 3 for 4 with a double and three runs scored in Friday 11-2 win over MSU Moorhead and 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles in in 6-5 win over Northern State.
#1 Sam Keller (WSU) was a key offensive catalyst behind the Winona State 3-1 NSIC weekend, leading the Warriors in almost every offensive category. She went 7-for-12 at the plate (.583) with four RBI, scoring seven times. Hit a homer and had two doubles and was 3-for-3 in a 9-1 win over SCSU. 

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
#16 Kristi Pilz (CSP) went 2-0 in 3 appearances (1 start) with a 0.51 ERA. She registered a .128 opponent average with no extra base hits allowed. She went the distance in a 9-1 win (6 IP) against UMC, scattering 3 singles with 3 strikeouts. She pitched 7.0 shutout innings of relief, allowing 2 singles for the win in 13 innings against BSU. She is the team leader in ERA (1.72) with a 5-0 record in 15 appearances (4 starts). She has allowed only six extra base hits in 44.2 IP against 168 opponent at bats on the year. 
#24 Lauren Dixon (UMD) recorded a 2-1 record on the week, with her only loss coming at Winona State. In 17.0 innings of work, gave up just five earned runs, while also striking out 20 batters. She gave up a total of just 16 hits over the three games.
#4 Callie Carraher (WSC) had a 2-0 record in three starts with one complete game and a 4.76 ERA during the week. She struck out seven batters, allowing two unearned runs on four hits in an 11-2 win over MSU Moorhead. She struck out seven more batters in 6-5 win over Northern State. For the week, she had 17 K's in 17 innings pitched. 
Liz Pautz (WSU) pitched three of the four Winona State contests this past weekend, winning all three starts. Pautz threw three, 3-hit games and struck out 15 batters in a 3-1 win over UMD, walking only one. She earned 10 K's vs. SCSU in a 9-1 win and then struck out 14 batters in 3-1 victory over Huskies, with only two walks. She allowed just three earned runs in three games and collected 39 strikeouts combined.
 

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) 
4/18/22
Player: #12 Jordyn Thomas - Minnesota Duluth (2)
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward – Minnesota State (6) 
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.