For Immediate Release
Monday, April 21, 2025
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Week
#35 Cole Fuecker (IF, 6-2, 220, Gr., R/R, Sauk Rapids, Minn. / Sauk Rapids-Rice) – Winona State
- Slashed .545/.583 /1.455 across five games last week
- Blasted five home runs and hit five doubles
- Went 12-for-22 at the plate
- Tallied 18 RBIs and seven runs scored
- Was 4 for 6 with a grand slam in the top of the 11th in a 14-10 victory over Concordia-St. Paul
- Went 3 for 5 with two home runs, including a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth in an 8-7 victory over SMSU

NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#20 Brandon Lind (LHP, 6-5, 215, Sr., L/L, Hibbing, Minn. / Eveleth-Gilbert HS) – Bemidji State 
- Made one start during the week pitching seven scoreless innings in the Beavers 10-2 win over Northern State
- Allowed just two hits, three walks and struck out five
- Held opposing batters to just a .087 batting average
- Improved to 3-4 on the season and is tied for seventh in the NSIC with 46 strikeouts

Other Top Performances - Player
Jack Hines (AUGIE)
- Batted .579 (11 for 19) with three doubles, eight runs scored and four RBI in five games against WSC and CSP
-  Walked three times and was 4 for 4 in stolen base attempts
- Finished with a .737 slugging pct. and a .636 on-base pct
- Recorded a hit in all five games, including three multi-hit games 
- Had three hits, a double, RBI and run scored in game two against WSC on Tuesday
- Went 4 for 5 with a double, RBI and three runs scored in the second game of a double header on Friday against Concordia-St. Paul
Adrian Falcon (BSU) 
- Batted .474 over 5 games collecting nine hits in 19 at bats
- Led the team in hits, doubles (3), home runs (2) and RBI (8)
- Slashed .474/.947/.524
- Went 1-for-1 in stolen bases
Charlie Harms (CSP)
- Has been CSP's top run producer the last few weeks with 19 RBIs in the last 15 games and 15 in the last 10 contests
- Had six multi-RBI performances in the last 10 games
- In five games last week, slashed .389/.455/.778 (7-18) for a 1.233 OPS
- Scored six times, drove in seven, had a double and two home runs with three walks
- Is now tied for the team lead with 26 RBIs on the season
Hank Griffin (UMary)
- Had at least two hits in all five games this week
- Went 12-for-17 with 4 doubles, a home run, scored seven runs and drove in 6
- Earned two walks, didn’t strike out and stole four bases
- Scored the winning walk off run against Minot State
- Had three hits in each of the last two games at USF, finishing 6-for-7 with 3 doubles, a home run, 5 RBIs and 3 runs scored
- Weekly slash line of .706/.750/1.118 and a 1.868 OPS over five games
Garrett Stauffacher (UMD)
- Batted 9-19 (.474) with 7 runs, 11 RBIs, 2 doubles, and a home run throughout UMD's first six home games of 2025
- Went 3-3 with with one run and tallied a career high 5 RBIs in a game two victory over Minot State
- Launched his sixth home run of the season against St. Cloud State
- Tallied a 1.000 FLD% with 13 solo outs over all six games
Aidan Bryne (MSU) 
- Went 15-for-26 at the plate to raise his batting average from .371 to .393
- Tallied 7 RBIs, 6 runs, and 4 extra-base hits—including 2 doubles and a triple—while also drawing a walk and stealing a base
- Against Minnesota Crookston, went 4-for-7 with 4 RBIs and 4 runs scored
Oscar Pegg  (MINOT) 
- Belted 4 home runs in 5 games, leading the Beavers' offense
- Hit .450 (9-for-20) on the week and added a double and 8 RBIs. He also walked twice, and defensively had 26 putouts and 3 assists
Nick Friedges (NSU)
- Posted a .400 batting average vs. Southwest Minnesota State and Bemidji State
- Collected 7 RBIs, 6 hits, and 2 home runs
- Notched a .800 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage
- Went 1-for-2 in the 5-3 win over Bemidji State with a 3-run homer to seal the victory
- Hit his second homer of the day in the 8-6 comeback win against BSU
Jaxon Haase (USF) 
- Brought power hitting over 5 games this week, accumulating a .357 batting average while collecting 5 hits
- All 5 of Haase's hits were for extra bases, with two home runs and three doubles
- Also drew 4 walks and got hit by pitch once for an OBP% of .526 and a Slug% of 1.000
- Led the Cougars in RBIs (seven) and runs (seven)
- Swiped two stolen bases on two attempts
Owen Latendresse (SMSU)
- Batted .389 (7 for 18) in five games with three doubles, two home runs, four runs scored and nine RBIs
- Finished the week with a .889 slugging pct. racking up 16 total bases and closing with a .520 on-base pct. 
- Added three walks and three hit by pitches
- Was also a perfect 4 for 4 in stolen base attempts
- Hit a solo home run and then belted the game-winning two-run double in the seventh inning against Northern State
- Collected at least one hit in four games during the week with two hits in three of the games
Brayden Chaney (WSC)
- Hit team-high .500 for the week going 8 for 16 at the plate
- Had three doubles, six stolen bases and seven runs scored with two multi-hit games
- Went 4 for 6 with three doubles, three runs scored and two RBI in 16-3 Saturday win at SCSU
- Was 2 for 4 with an RBI and run scored at Augustana Wednesday

Other Top Performances - Pitcher
Ashton Michek (AUGIE)
- Threw five dominant innings in a victory over Concordia-St. Paul 
- Struck out 8 and limited the Golden Bears to just four hits without allowing a run
- Held CSP to a .222 opponent batting average
- Improves his season record to 6-2 with the Vikings
Fritz Meyer (CSP)
- Pitched into the sixth inning to earn a win over Winona State
- Allowed one run for a 1.69 ERA against the Warriors
- Scattered four singles, a pair of walks and a solo homer for his only run allowed
- Struck out four and held WSU to a .263 average
- Lowered his ERA to 5.13 and hasn't registered a loss in his last five appearances (four starts)
Ryan Wattermann (UMD)
- Recorded his second win of the season in win against St. Cloud State
- Pitched 7.0 innings of six hit ball in 11-1 victory 
- Tallied a 1.29 ERA over 31 batters faced
- Held the Huskies to a .231 batting average
- Recorded a career high seven strikeouts
- Improved his 2025 season record to 2-0
Nathan Culley (MSU)
- Pitched seven innings while allowing just five hits and two earned runs
- Struck out nine and walked four, earning the win to improve his record to 9-0 on the season
- With the outing, he lowered his ERA to 2.56 and held opponents to a .209 batting average
- Only threw six balls through three innings and had a no-hitter going through four innings
Connor Hill (MINOT)
- Earned the win, pitching 5 innings of 1-run ball, allowing 4 hits and striking out 5 in a 7-3 win at Mary on Tuesday
Braxton Kusler (NSU)
- Improved his record to 2-3 in the 5-3 win over Bemidji State
- Struck out 6 in 6.0 innings pitched
- Recorded a 3.0 ERA in the outing
Brady Baur (USF)
- Collected a win against #8 Minnesota State on Wednesday, going 6.0 innings and allowing just 2 runs
- Scattered 4 hits while striking out 5 in the 25 batters he faced
- Held the Mavericks to a .190 batting average, while finishing the game with a 2.33 ERA
Jameson Quinn (SMSU)
- Made two appearances with one start last week in two SMSU victories
- Fnished the week tossing 5.2 innings and allowing five runs (two earned) with three strikeouts 
- Earned a no-decision in a start at Northern State on Tuesday tossing 4 ? innings allowing two earned runs with two strikeouts
- Then pitched a scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout during SMSU's 10-8 win on Saturday at Winona State
Carson Obrecht (WSC)
- Took no-hitter into sixth inning in Saturday's 16-3 win at St. Cloud State
- Fired 5 ? innings of no-hit ball, allowing just one hit in 16-3 win
- Struck out five batters in six innings of work on 73 pitches (47 strikes)
Pierce Gritzmaker (WSU)
- In the 11-7 victory over SMSU, he pitched 5.1 innings to earn the win
- Received third win of the season after striking out seven batters
- Walked zero batters in 26 total batters faced
NSIC Baseball Players of the Week
2/11/25
Player: #12 Sam Siegel - Augustana
Pitcher: #49 Mariano Gomez - Augustana
2/24/25
Player: #2 Sawyer Satrom – Minnesota Crookston
Pitcher: #32 Josh Dykhoff – Minnesota Crookston
3/3/25
Player: #20 Ike Mezzenga – Minnesota State 
Pitcher:  #4 Nathan Culley – Minnesota State
3/10/25
Player: #6 Jason Axelberg - Augustana
Pitcher: #30 J.D. Hennen - Augustana
3/17/25
Player: #2 Chase Douglas – Wayne State
Pitcher: #36 Ryan Chamberlain – University of Mary
3/24/25
Player: #7 Levi Lampert  – Southwest Minnesota State
Pitcher: #23 Sam George – Minnesota State
3/31/25
Player: #7 Levi Lampert  – Southwest Minnesota State (2)
Pitcher: #32 Josh Dykhoff – Minnesota Crookston (2)
4/8/25
Player: #5 Zach Stroh – Minnesota State
Pitcher: #20 Aiden Johnson – University of Mary 
4/14/25
Player: #8 Lincoln Berry – Minnesota State
Pitcher: #6 Ryan Chmielewski – Southwest Minnesota State
4/21/25
Player: #35 Cole Fuecker – Winona State
Pitcher: #20 Brandon Lind – Bemidji State 

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 27 team national championships and crowned 121 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.