For Immediate Release
Monday, April 15, 2024
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#12 Chase McDaniel (SS, 6-1, 190, Sr., L/R, Pahrump, Nev. / Pahrump Valley) – SMSU
- Batted an NSIC-best .714 (15-for-21) with four home runs, a double and a triple
- Owned a 1.429 slugging percentage and a .682 on base percentage for the week
- Tallied a team-best nine RBI and scored 10 runs 
- Had a career-defining performance going 5-for-5 at the plate against UMC
- Had a pair of home runs, three RBI, and four runs scored in the 18-11 loss to UMC 
- Batted 3-for-4 in the 12-2 win over UMC, including a pair of extra-base hits and two RBI
- His season-high five hits versus UMC pushed him to 214 career hits 
- The 214 hits set the SMSU all-time baseball hit record

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#49 Mariano Gomez (LHP, 6-5, 245, Jr., L/L, San Pedro Sula, Honduras / Instituto Episcopal El Buen Pastor) – Augustana
 - Threw six shutout innings to help the Vikings close out a sweep against Winona State
- Struck out 10 and allowed just three hits
- Allowed an opponents’ batting average of .150
- Contributed to Augustana's ninth shutout of the season, the most amongst all NCAA levels
- Dropped his season ERA to 2.08, opponents’ batting average to .181, and now has 39 strikeouts in 26 innings

Other Top Performances - Player
Drey Dirksen (AUGIE)
- Batted .500 (8-for-16) with four doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, and eight runs scored as AUGIE went 5-0
- Broke the all-time program record with his 50th career home run against Winona State on Saturday
- Also held a .619 on base percentage and 1.500 slugging percentage
- Recorded three multi-hit games and reached base at least twice in each game
- Went 3 for 5 with three home runs and three walks in a doubleheader sweep over USF
- Second in the NSIC with 10 home runs in conference play and 14 overall
Matt Filippi (BSU)
- Batted .375 with six hits in 16 at bats in the Beavers' series with UMD and MSU
- Hit one double, one home run and drove in two runs for an OPS of 1.037
- Slugged .625 and had an on-base percentage of .412
- Went 3-for-3 in stolen bases
Jaden Werner (CSP)
- Slashed .588/.682/1.118 in the 4-1 homestand against St. Cloud State and Wayne State
- Collected 10 hits that included a pair of home runs and three doubles
- Finished with a team-leading 12 RBIs and scored eight runs of his own
- Added four walks and was hit by one pitch over the five-game stretch
Josh Walker (UMary)
- Went 7-for-19 for a slash line of .368/.478/.789 (1.267 OPS) as the Marauders finished the week 3-2
- Had a hit in all five games with two doubles, two home runs, four runs scored and eight RBIs
- Multiple RBIs in three games with a grand slam in the Marauders 12-6 win at SCSU
Kobe Senn (UMC)
- Was 8-of-17 for the week, hitting .471
- Scored six runs and had six RBIs
- Notched two doubles for the week
- Was a perfect 5-of-5 Sunday against SMSU, with three runs scored and four RBIs
- He was 2-of-4 in game two against Minot State
Ethan Cole (UMD)
- Was 9-21 (.428) with 14 RBIs, and three homers over all five games
- Had a three run home run to take the lead in win over Northern State on Saturday
- Owned a .942 FLD% with 29 put outs and 3 assists in the field over all five games
Byrne Aidan  (MSU)
- Registered a .650 (13-20) batting average over five game against WSU and BSU
- Recorded eight runs, six RBI, and a home run on the week while collecting a team-high 21 total bases
- Sustained a .609 on-base percentage and a 1.050 slugging percentage
- Went 5-5 in stolen base attempts
Owned a 1.000 percent fielding percentage through five games
Noah Madas (MINOT)
- Went 9-for-19 at the plate, driving in 9 runs, and hitting 2 home runs on the week
- Defensively he added 12 putouts and 13 assists
Jack Weidner (NSU)
- Hit .500 (9-for-18) in the two game series against UMary and three game series against UMD
- Tallied nine hits with six runs, three RBIs, three doubles along with 12 total bags
- Recorded a slugging percentage of .667 and an on base percentage of .591
- Was perfect on the defensive side with nine put outs on the week
Cal James (SCSU)
- Powered the Huskies offense to a doubleheader split with CSP and a series win over UMary
- Slashed .556/.680/1.167 (10-for-18) with three home runs and nine RBI and scored 10 runs
- Hit .615 (8-for13) with three home runs and eight RBI in the series with UMary
- Homered twice in a 12-6 setback, marking his second multi-homer game of the season and sixth of his career
Cole Fuecker (WSU)
- Provided a steady offensive influence for Winona State in a 3-game series against Augustana
- Was 4-of-12 (.333) against the Vikings
- Hit 4-of-15 overall in the week

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
Eric Lundell (CSP)
- Was the winning pitcher against SCSU and added a pair of saves against WSC from the bullpen
- Finished the week with a 1.59 earned run average after allowing only one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched
- Held the opposing lineups to a .143 batting average by allowing only three hits over in his three appearances
- Collected four strikeouts and walked only one batter
Mark Schommer (UMary)
- Pitched 5.0 innings and allowed just two hits and one run in a pair of UMary wins
- Made his 1st career start against Northern State and earned the win in a 7-5 UMary victory
- Allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk in 4.0 innings
- Closed out the Marauders 12-6 win at SCSU with a perfect inning, striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced
- Has allowed just 1 run in 13.1 innings this season, striking out 18 while giving up 7 hits and 2 walks
Jake Osowski (UMC)
- Pitched a complete game shutout against Southwest Minnesota State Saturday in an 8-0 win
- Went the full seven innings, allowing no runs on seven hits
- Struck out six, and walked one
- Wednesday against Minot State, picked up the save, allowing no runs on one hit with a pair of strikeouts
Caden Klebba  (UMD)
- Went 5.0 innings allowing two runs (one earned) off four hits,
- Struck out seven of the 20 batters faced
- Earned his first win of the season over Bemidji State
Sam George  (MSU)
- Pitched four innings of one-run baseball against BSU
- Collected a career-high eight Ks
- Threw MSU first immaculate inning in the bottom of the second in Sundays game at BSU
- Struck out six straight batters
- Registered a batting average against of .077
Jonah Prokott (MINOT)
- Earned his second win of the season with five scoreless innings of work on the hill
- Scattering four hits and struck out three batters against Sioux Falls on Saturday
Max Otto (NSU)
- In two starts on the week he recorded an ERA of 8.49 in 11.2 innings pitched
- Improved his record to 5-4 on the season in the 10-7 win over Minnesota Duluth
- Tallied 13 strikeouts and held hitters to a .275 batting average
- Notched nine strikeouts against 28 batters in the contest against UMary
- Broke the school records for innings pitched with 240.0 innings and strikeouts with 233
Carter Petron (SMSU)
- Went 1-0 on the mound this week
- Fired a career-high 11 Ks in a 12-2 seven inning win over UMC on Saturday
- Allowed just two runs on five hits
- Luke Tupy (SCSU)
- Earned his NSIC-leading sixth win in a 15-1 victory
- Went 5.0 innings with 10 strike outs while only allowing one earned run on three hits
- Gave up a solo home run to the leadoff hitter on Saturday before then retiring the next nine batters
- Stuck out seven
Pierce Gritzmaker (WSU)
- Threw an impressive six innings against the No. 10 ranked Augustana Vikings on Sunday
- Threw six scoreless innings, recording four strikeouts and just 1 walk
- Scattered five hits
NSIC Baseball Players of the Week
2/13/24
Player: #4 Trey Wells – Wayne State  
Pitcher:  #12 Corbin Kirk – Wayne State
2/20/24
Player: #19 Mason Nadolney – Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: #21 Luke Tupy – St. Cloud State
2/27/24
Player: #2 Cal James – St. Cloud State
Pitcher: #26 Owen Weadge – Sioux Falls
3/4/24
Player: #2 Keenan Wenzel  - SMSU
Pitcher: #8 Ashton Michek  – Augustana
3/12/24
Player: #23 Jack Hines - Augustana
Pitcher: #48 Caleb Saari - Augustana
3/18/24
Player: #29 Noah Hull - UMary
Pitcher: #21 Luke Tupy – St. Cloud State (2) 
3/25/24
Player: #23 Nick Thimsen – Concordia-St. Paul
Pitcher: #23 Peter Tveite – Winona State
4/1/24
Player: #1 Isaac Nett - SMSU
Pitcher: #33 Pierce Gritzmaker  - Winona State
4/8/24
Player: #23 Jack Hines - Augustana (2)
Pitcher: #48 Caleb Saari - Augustana (2)
4/15/24
Player: #12 Chase McDaniel – SMSU
Pitcher: #49 Mariano Gomez – Augustana

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 27 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.