For Immediate Release
Monday, March 18, 2024
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#44 Alexis Monty (IF, 5-2, Fr, Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater Area HS) - Concordia-St. Paul
- Slashed .588/.632/.824 in Concordia-St. Paul’s five games at the MIAA/NSIC Crossover
- Posted a team-high 10 hits over the weekend with a tied team-high of two doubles
- Didn’t strike out a single time in the five games
- Tallied three hits with a 2RBI triple in CSP’s 9-6 victory against Nebraska Kearney
- Scored twice with two hits in a Golden Bear 5-4 comeback win against Missouri Southern
- Put up a team-high three hits in CSP’s loss to No. 13 Pittsburg State
- Improved her averages slashing .547/581/.709 total on the season with a team-high 23 RBIs
- Named NSIC Player of the Week for the second week in a row

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#77 Azalya Lopez (RHP, So., 5-8, R/R, Corona, Calif. / Eleanor Roosevelt HS) – MSU Moorhead
- Pitched a total of 16.2 innings, only surrendering one earned run for a weekly ERA of 0.41
- Only gave up a total of seven hits to the 60 batters she faced across the week for a .116 opponent average in her appearances
- Twirled her first complete game shutout in MSUM's 2-0 win over Central Missouri on Thursday, striking out seven Jennies in the process
- Pitched five innings in MSUM's 7-6 win over Lincoln on Wednesday, fanning eight Blue Tigers
- Struck out a total of 17 batters across the week and earned a pair of wins to her 2024 ledger

Others Top Performers  - Players
Andrea Cain (AUGIE) 
- Batted .394 with a .444 on-base percentage over nine games and 33 at-bats
- Recorded 11 RBI on 13 hits
- Totaled two doubles, two triples and a home run as part of her 13 hits
Chloe Makinney (MSUM) 
- Hit for a .500 average with five RBIs and a pair of runs scored in six games played 
- Mashed a fourth inning double against Central Missouri which gave MSUM a 2-1 lead at the time
- The Dragons would eventually win 5-2 and would not trail at any point after Makinney's hit
- Gathered two hits and four RBIs to help MSUM get past Northwest Missouri State, 9-3
- Drove in three runs on a pair of singles in the victory
Elly Smith (NSU) 
- Held a .514 average and .600 slugging percentage
- Racked up 18 hits and 13 RBI, as well as three doubles and two runs scored
- Tallied six multiple hit games, including a week best 3-4 against Quincy with three RBI
- Raised her season average by 95 points in the ten games
Riley Kramolisch (SMSU) 
- Led SMSU in batting going 6 for 21 with two RBIs while scoring a pair of runs
- Committed only one error over six games fielding .933 in left field
- Went 2 for 4 at the plate and scored a run in 5-2 win over Lake Erie (Pa.)
- Batted 2 for 3 and scored the game-winning run in 2-1 win against Wayne State (Mich.)
Grace Frechette (SCSU) 
- Slashed .444/.643/.778 in five games at the MIAA/NSIC Crossover Challenge
- Led the Huskies in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage
- Tied for the team lead with four hits (4-of-9) and led the team with seven total bases
- Was one of two Huskies to hit a home run
- Earned five walks and was successful on her only stolen base attempt
Sam Kelly (WSU) 
- Was 9-of-20 at the plate over the week
- Had two doubles among her nine hits
- Scored two runs

Others Top Performers  - Pitcher
Erica McCullough (CSP)
- Put up a 1.98 ERA in 17.2 innings pitched in Concordia-St. Paul's five games at the MIAA/NSIC Crossover
- Threw a team-high 13 strikeouts and allowed an opposing .278 batting average
- Only gave up five earned runs over the weekend
- Tallied her 10th win of the season in CSP’s 10-2 victory against UNK
- Threw a season-high seven strikeouts against the Lopers 
- Picked up her first save of the season in Concordia-St. Paul’s 9-6 victory over UNK with two strikeouts
- Has tallied the most wins in a season in her career and throwing a team-best 3.03 ERA this season
Taylor Coleman (NSU) 
- Led the Northern State staff from the Sunshine State with two wins and a 1.50 ERA
- Threw 14.0 innings in her two wins with 18 strikeouts, averaging 1.3 strikeouts per inning
- Tallied a .152 opponent batting averaging, giving up just seven hits and three earned runs
- Also found success offensively, hitting .350 with seven hits, five runs scored, three RBI, and two doubles
Karlie Miller  (SMSU) 
- Led SMSU in the circle over the week with a 2-1 record and one save
- Allowed just four earned runs 22.0 innings pitched recording a 1.64 ERA and racking up 24 strikeouts
- Pitched three complete games and earned a shutout over American International College 
- Struck out a season-high eight batters against AIC
- Struck out seven batters in a complete game win over Southern Connecticut State
- Recorded a double and RBI on the offensive end in win over SCSU
- Earned the save against Lake Erie (Pa.) allowing just one hit while striking out three in the final 2.0  innings
Abby Smith (WSU) 
- Struck out four and walked just one in a hard-luck, 1-0 extra-innings loss to MSSU
- Threw 13 & ? innings in total on the weekend allowing five earned runs on 16 hits
NSIC Softball Players of the Week
2/5/24
Player: #28 Reese Holzhueter – St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #50 Grace Glanzer - Augustana
2/13/24
Player: #16 Shaelyn Grant – Minnesota Crookston
Pitcher: #3 Taylor Coleman – Northern State
2/20/24
Player: #1 Sam Keller – Winona State
Pitcher: #55 Justyce Porter - St. Cloud State 
2/27/24
Player: #13 Gianna Lara – Minnesota State
Pitcher: #22 Maddie Oetzmann – Minnesota State
3/4/24
Player: #18 Riley Rosenthal - Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: #22 Maddie Oetzmann – Minnesota State (2)
3/11/24
Player: #44 Alexis Monty - Concordia-St. Paul 
Pitcher: #24 Lauren Dixon – Minnesota Duluth
3/18/24
Player: #44 Alexis Monty - Concordia-St. Paul (2)
Pitcher: #77 Azalya Lopez – MSU Moorhead

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 15-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in 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 union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 25 team national championships and crowned 113 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.