For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#32 Josh Dykhoff (RHP/1B, 6-2, 210, Fr., R/R, Wadena, Minn. / Wadena/Deer Creek HS) – Minnesota Crookston
- Batted .412 (7-of-17) as UMC went 4-1 against WSU and CSP
- Scored seven runs, added a double, three home runs, and seven RBIs
- Helped the Golden Eagle offense score 27 runs in three games against CSP
- Was 3-of-3, with two runs scored, a home run, and four RBIs in a 10-0 win over CSP

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#33 Jake Dykhoff (RHP, 6-0, 195, R-Sr., R/R, Wadena, Minn. / Wadena/Deer Creek HS) – Minnesota Crookston
- Pitched a two-hit shutout Saturday in a 12-0 victory over Concordia-St. Paul
- Tied the school record for strikeouts in a single-game with 14 in his 7.0 innings of work
- Has allowed just four runs on 11 hits in his last four starts (28 innings)
- During the stretch, he has struck out 39 and walked just eight
- Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season (3/6/23)

Other Top Performances - Player
#14 Drey Dirksen (AUGIE) logged eight hits, three runs, five doubles, a home run and four RBI across five games for Augustana. He held a batting average of .400.
#28 Jackson Schaffer  (BSU) batted .333 in 15 plate appearances over five games for the Beavers. He totaled five hits with two doubles and drove in one run with two runs scored. He had a slugging percentage of .467, on-base percentage of .412 and drew two walks.
#39 Will Brassil (UMary) finished a doubleheader against Concordia-St. Paul going 4-for-7 with 2 RBIs. He was 1-for-3 with an RBI in game 1 and went 3-for-4 with an RBI in game 2. He is hitting .611 (11-for-18) this season with 3 HR, 8 RBIs and 4 runs scored in 8 games (4 starts).
#20 Matt Malone (MINOT) led the way in five games for the Beavers hitting a torrid 11-for-19 with 3 doubles, a triple, and an RBI. He also stole a base for Minot State.
Reece Ragatz  (NSU) batted 8-for-14 (.571) this week in series' against Wayne State and Winona State with one double, four homeruns, two walks, nine RBI, and five runs scored. He also held a slugging percentage of 1.500 and an on-base percentage of .625 against the Wildcats and Warriors. In the 3-game weekend series against Winona State he batted 6-for-10 with one double, three homeruns, and two walks for a total of eight RBI and four runs scored. In the series finale he went 3-for-3 at the plate against the Warriors, breaking the school record with three homeruns in a single game and tying the school single game RBI record with seven. In game three against WSU he was also walked once and totaled four runs scored. Ragatz extend-ed his current hit streak to six games and has a hit in ten of his 15 games played this season, along with three multi-hit games. In all games played this season he now is second in the NSIC in slugging percentage at .905 and is tied for fourth in the conference with seven homeruns.
#7 John Nett (SCSU) enjoyed a strong week at the top of the Huskies order, leading the club to a 4-1 start to conference play. The centerfielder went 6-for-17 at the plate while slashing .353/.421/.471 for a .892 OPS with two runs scored, two doubles, two steals and an RBI.
#2 Ethan Sawyer (UIU) led the Peacock offense with 10 hits this week including a double and a homerun. The Peacock second baseman hit .526 for the week with three RBI and five runs scored pushing Upper Iowa to a 4-0 record.
#32 Hunter Babe (WSC) hit a team-high .438 going 7-for-16 with two three-hit games. He was 3 for 3 with two RBIs in 2-1 win over Northern State. He went 3 for 4 with two doubles and RBI in 7-6 win over Northern State.
Cooper Kapanke (WSU) was 5-for-15 (.333) over a five game stretch for the Warriors last week.  He scored four runs, with eight RBIs and a pair of doubles and home runs.  He slashed .333/.500/.867 for the week as the Warriors went 3-2. 

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
#28 Seth Miller  (AUGIE) spent 7.0 innings on the mound and allowed just two hits in Augustana's 5-2 win over St. Cloud State. He had an ERA of 0.00 as he struck out five batters to move to 3-1 this season.
#40 Will Lavin  (BSU) pitched a complete seven inning game in his lone appearance of the week to lead the Beavers to their first NSIC victory. He held Sioux Falls to just one run off seven hits and struck out a season-high seven batters.
#25 Eric Lundell (CSP) made three scoreless relief appearances in CSP's five game week. He recorded the save in game one against UMary. He delivered 6.1 scoreless innings in relief as he allowed only three hits and held opponents to a batting average of .158. He recorded six strikeouts and zero walks.
#33 Halen Knoll (UMary) was tremendous in a relief effort in the Marauders 16-inning game against the CSP. He threw 7.0 innings striking out eight while allowing 2 hits, 2 R, 1 ER, and 2 BB.
#12 Trevyn Badger (MINOT) dominated in a pitcher's duel, picking up the win over Minnesota State as he struck out four and allowed just one run on two hits in a complete-game, 7-inning victory.
#22 Sam Riola  (SCSU) spun a gem in his first start of the conference season, firing 9.0 score-less innings while striking out nine Vikings on March 24. The righthander scattered four hits and three walks, filling up the zone with 85 strikes and 17 whiffs on 119 pitches – good for a 71.4% strike rate – before exiting a scoreless game after nine, taking a no-decision.
Justin Firpo (WSU) went 7.0 innings in a 2-1 win over Northern State.  He allowed one run on five hits with eight strikeouts.  

NSIC Baseball Players of the Week
2/7/23
Player: #7 John Nett – St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #26 Riley Ahern – St. Cloud State 
2/14/23
Player: #7 John Nett – St. Cloud State (2)
Pitcher: #13 Bryant Bagshaw - Minot State 
2/21/23
Player: #23 Jack Hines - Augustana
Pitcher: #13 Bryant Bagshaw - Minot State (2)
2/27/23
Player: #3 Trevor Winterstein - Augustana
Pitcher: #37 Ryan Jares  - Augustana
3/6/23
Player: #28 Mark Ossanna - Minot State
Pitcher: #33 Jake Dykhoff - Minnesota Crookston 
3/13/23
Player: #2 Keenan Wenzel - SMSU
Pitcher: #17 Ansen Dulas - SMSU
3/21/23
Player: #8 Jake Hjelle – Minnesota Crookston
Pitcher: #40 Jonah Lewis – Concordia-St. Paul
3/28/23
Player: #32 Josh Dykhoff – Minnesota Crookston
Pitcher: #33 Jake Dykhoff - Minnesota Crookston (2)

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 105 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.