For Immediate Release
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#33 Kait Van Der Zwaag (1B/RHP, Jr., Hull, Iowa / Boyden-Hull Rock Valley HS) - Sioux Falls
- Held a .471 average (8-for-17) with seven runs scored as USF went 6-0 last week
- Totaled 14 RBI, 21 total bases and a stolen base
- Slugged 1.235 with a double and four home runs to go with a pair of walks and three hit by pitches
- Was also 3-0 on the mound with a 0.44 ERA in two complete games with 11 strikeouts 

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#17 Mackenzie Ward (RHP, Sr., Clive, Iowa / Valley HS) - Minnesota State
- Posted a 3-0 record to go along with a 0.33 ERA in four appearances last week
- Recorded shutouts against both Winona State and Minot State
- Stuck out 33 batters in 21.0 innings pitched
- Held opposing batters to a .114 average
- Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week for the eighth time this season 

Other Top Performances - Players
Mary Pardo (AUGIE) hit .412 with a .765 slugging percentage as she reached base in 56.5 percent of her at-bats. She recorded two home runs to reach 24 on the year, setting a new Augustana school record for home runs in a season. She also set the NSIC single-season record with 19 home runs in 2022.
#12 Jordyn Thomas (UMD) in six games this past week, notched three home runs and eight RBI. At the plate, she went 7-for-20 (.350), which also included three doubles. She also posted a perfect fielding percentage across all six games.
Madi Newman (MSU) batted .474 with nine hits, including three doubles. She scored six runs and drove in three runs. She went 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. She notched a .632 slugging percentage and a .545 on-base percentage.
#11 Piper Mckibbin (MSUM) had five-game hitting streak during the week as she hit .357 for and raised batting average by 25 points. She also scored two runs. 
#13 Jazmin Karununga (MINOT) led the Beavers in hits and stolen bases on the week and was second in batting average and RBIs for Minot State.
#13 Sydney Trees (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 5-1 week in NSIC play, including an 8-1 win over No. 12 Augustana to close the season. She hit .619 with 13 hits in 21 at bats. She added eight runs, two doubles, one home run, four RBI and 18 total bases. She went 7-8 with five runs and one RBI in St. Cloud State's sweep of Wayne State. She went 3-4 at the plate in St. Cloud State's 8-1 win over #12 Augustana with two runs and two RBI. She added a home run in the victory, helping the Huskies close the season with a program record 58 home runs this season. She helped St. Cloud State close the season with 23 NSIC wins, the most since the Huskies rejoined the NSIC in 2009.

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
Ashley Mickschl (AUGIE) went 3-0 with a 0.32 ERA as she pitched 22 innings for three complete games and 20 strikeouts. She allowed just a single earned run over the 22 innings. She earned victories over Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and regionally ranked Minnesota Duluth. She allowed just two walks, further pushing her ahead in the NSIC and her No. 7 national ranking in fewest walks per seven innings.
Jasmine Blizzard (MINOT) picked up a win in the circle as she led the Beavers in strikeouts with 9 pitching in three games, including one start.
Hanna Cress (USF) had a 2-0 record with 2.29 ERA over 18.1 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and a shutout. 
#15 Trinity Junker (SCSU) led the Huskies to a 5-1 week by going 3-0 in the circle, including an 8-1 win over #12 Augustana. She surrendered just one earned run in 19.0 innings of work and pitched two shutouts for a weekly ERA of 0.37. She held Bemidji State to just five hits and zero runs in the Huskies 1-0 game one win and struck out six in the complete game effort. Threw a three-hit shutout in St. Cloud State's 11-0 win over Wayne State on Sunday. Held Augustana to just one run on six hits in the Huskies 8-1 win over the Vikings. Became the first SCSU pitcher to win 18 games in the regular season since Kelly Franks did so in 2014.
 
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) 
4/26/22
Player: #9 Abby Lien - Augustana
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward – Minnesota State (7) 
5/3/22
Player: #33 Kait Van Der Zwaag - Sioux Falls
Pitcher: #17 Mackenzie Ward – Minnesota State (7) 

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.