For Immediate Release
Monday, April 10, 2023
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#11 Cheyenne Behrends (IF, So., R/R, Clarksville, Iowa / Clarksville HS) – Minnesota State
- Was 9-for-16 with four doubles and two home runs as MSU went 5-1
- Led the Mavericks with a .529 batting average and a 1.118 slugging percentage
- Scored four runs and recorded six RBIs 
- Recorded at least one hit in all six games

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#24 Lauren Dixon (LHP, 5-6, Jr., L/L, Sobieski, Wis. / Pulaski HS) – Minnesota Duluth
- Allowed just one earned run and 11 total hits across three complete game wins and a save
- Held an ERA of 0.35 over the 20.0 innings pitched
- Amassed 30 strikeouts 
- Had 12 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout win against Northern State
- Followed with eight more strikeouts in 5.0 innings in an 11-1 victory over Concordia-St Paul
- Recorded a one-inning save against the Golden Bears in game two
- Went 7.0 innings against Minnesota State on Saturday, picking up 10 more strikeouts in a 3-1 win
- Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row

Other Top Performances - Players
Torri Chute (AUGIE) batted .500 with four doubles while AU went 3-1. Of her six hits, four were doubles. She recorded five RBI and held a .600 on-base percentage. She scored four runs and drew three walks.
#18 Ashley Herold (BSU) had a hit in all four conference games this week, posting a .357 batting average, along with two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored. She also was perfect in the field tallying 16 putouts and two assists. Herold powered the Beavers to a split against Upper Iowa hitting a home run in each game, while driving in three in the two games. She extended her hitting streak to six games.
#10 Jacey Defries (CSP) went 8-of-18 in games for a .444 batting average. She had an on-base percentage of .476 while slugging .667. She added a double, a home run, two walks and six RBIs in six games. She went 2-for-4 against Sioux Falls with a home run and three RBIs.
#22 Kaylee Kannegiesser (UMary) had another productive weekend at the plate for the Marauders as she was 3-for-7 with a triple, a run scored and three sacrifice hits. She slashed .429/.500/.714 and was perfect in the field on 17 chances. For the conference season she leads the Marauders in batting average and has a line of .320/346/400.
#33 Eliya Johnson (MSUM) totaled six hits in 12 at-bats (.500 average) across MSUM's four-game sweep of SMSU and USF, knocking in four RBIs in the process and scoring four runs herself. She capped the weekend for the Dragons with a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat Sioux Falls, 5-4. She had a .625 on-base percentage with a .750 slugging percentage for the week.
#3 Leo Watson (MINOT) led the offense as Minot State won 3-of-4 on the weekend. Leo went 6-for-13 with 2 doubles for the Beavers, walked twice, and was hit by a pitch. Defensively, she had 5 putouts and 12 assists.
Liv Richardson  (NSU) hit .353 with a .529 slugging percentage last week for Northern State. She tallied six hits, including a double and triple (the team's first triple of the season). She added two runs scored, one RBI, and two stolen bases. Defensively, she recorded seven putouts and one assist in centerfield.
#44 Kait Van Der Zwaag (USF) had 9 hits, a double and 3 home runs on the week. She led USF with 8 RBIs.
#14 Maggie Fitzgerald (SCSU) went 6-for-11 over four games with four RBIs, two runs, and two extra base hits.
#23 Paiton Tornberg  (WSC) hit a team-high .529 going 9-for-17 at the plate with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs. She had three multi-hit games as she was 3-for-4 with a homerun  and two runs scored in 15-9 win Wednesday at Upper Iowa. She was 2 for 3 vs. Minot State Saturday and went 3 for 4 with a double and RBI in a 4-3 loss at Minot State Saturday.
#2 Savannah Serdynski  (WSU) batted .500 during the Warriors 4-0 weekend with an on-base percentage of .700. Going 3-6 at the plate and earning four walks, Serdynski reached base seven times while scoring one run and collecting four RBI. Serdynski gave the Warriors a walk-off victory to end the week, hitting an RBI double to give WSU the 2-1 win over UMC. Serdynski was perfect in the field, having 12 putouts and 5 assists.

Other Top Performances - Pitchers
Hailey Houston (AUGIE) went 2-0 with a stellar 1.27 ERA. She pitched 11 innings allowing just eight hits and just two runs while striking out nine batters.
#12 KylaDamerow (BSU) pitched in all four games this week in conference play, starting two. She went 1-1 with a 1.87 ERA in 15 innings, adding two strikeouts to just two walks and allowed four earned runs. Damerow tossed a complete game, seven inning win against Upper Iowa allowing just one earned run. She had a perfect game going through 4.1 innings in the 5-1 road victory. In her other start against Winona State, Damerow again kept the Beavers in it while tossing a complete game, six inning effort. She allowed just two earned runs in the tight 2-1 loss.
McKayla Armbruster (MSU) went 2-1 last week with a 1.57 ERA in four appearances. She threw three complete games, including a two-hit shutout against Southwest Minnesota State. She notched her third save of the season in 1.1 innings. She struck out 23 batters and held opposing hitters to a .203 batting average.
#19 Calley Olson (MINOT) picked up 2 of the Beavers' 3 wins on the weekend coming out of the bullpen, pitching 4 total innings, scattering 3 hits, not allowing a run, and striking out 3 total hitters in the two victories.
#23 Evans Evey (MSUM) pitched in each of MSUM's four wins during the week over Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls, tallying a total of 9.2 innings over those contests.  She picked up a pair of wins in game one against the Mustangs and game two against the Cougars to move her win total to five for the season. She secured her first two saves of the season in MSUM's game two win over SMSU and their game one win over USF. She surrendered just seven hits in the innings she pitched over the weekend, tallying two strikeouts and not giving up a single run.
#19 Lexi Chase  (NSU) led the pitching staff with a 2.58 ERA through four appearances and 21.2 innings of work. She threw three complete games, including a win over Southwest Minnesota State. She added five strikeouts and posted a .273 opponent batting average. Defensively, she recorded one putout and added eight assists without giving up an error.
#21 Sophie Stuart  (WSC) went 2-0 in three relief appearances with 1.11 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched. She fired four innings of one hit, scoreless relief in 15-9 win Wednesday at Upper Iowa. She fired 3 2/3 innings of relief, allowing just two hits and one run in 9-5 win at UMary Friday. In 12.2 innings pitched for the week allowed just seven hits and two earned runs.
#23 Abbie Hlas (WSU) started two games and picked up two wins in the circle for Winona State with a 2-1 victory over Bemidji State and a 4-1 victory against Minnesota Crookston. In both starts, Hlas pitched complete games and allowed just one earned run across the two games. Hlas struck out seven batters while walking just two in 14.0 innings pitched. At the plate, Hlas scored two runs and drove in two runs while collecting four hits.
NSIC Softball Players of the Week
2/7/23
Player: #3 Ellie Tallman – Minnesota State
Pitcher: #26 Allyssa Williams - Minnesota Duluth
2/14/23
Player: #5 Sidney Zavoral – Minnesota Duluth
Pitcher: #15 Trinity Junker – St. Cloud State
2/21/23
Player: #10 Avery Steffen – MSU Moorhead
Pitcher: #9 McKayla Armbruster - Minnesota State
2/27/23
Player: #14 Maggie Fitzgerald – St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #26 Allyssa Williams – Minnesota Duluth
3/6/23
Player: #21 Clara Heislen – Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: #15 Trinity Junker – St. Cloud State (2)
3/13/23
Player: #14 Ashton Dorman - Augustana
Pitcher: #16 Kristi Pilz – Concordia-St. Paul
3/20/23
Player: #18 Jasmin Estrada – St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #15 Reegan Floyd – Minot State
3/27/23
Player: #20 Andrea Cain - Augustana
Pitcher: #28 Hailey Houston  - Augustana
4/4/23
Player: #12 Delaney Young – Augustana 
Pitcher: #24 Lauren Dixon – Minnesota Duluth
4/10/23
Player: #11 Cheyenne Behrends – Minnesota State 
Pitcher: #24 Lauren Dixon – Minnesota Duluth (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.