Jaryd Marks posted a .593 batting average to guide the Beavers to a 6-0 week in NSIC play. In 27 at-bats he recorded 16 hits, drove in 10 runs and added 10 runs scored. He totaled 20 bases and posted a .621 on-base percentage. The senior had a .741 slugging percentage and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage after 26 putouts and two assists. The first baseman recorded two four-hit games and two three-hit games during the week. In a game against Minot State Monday, he went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI. In 27 at-bats he had just one strikeout.  

Jason Hoppe extended his scoreless innings streak to 23 and improved to 6-1 overall after firing his second straight nine-inning complete-game shutout in MSU’s 6-0 victory over Wayne State Saturday afternoon. Hoppe struck out a season-high 14 batters while allowing only four hits to lower his season ERA to 1.53 with 69 strikeouts in 59.0 innings pitched as he ranks second in the NSIC in ERA while leading the league in strikeouts.

#2 Nate Hewes (IF, 5-10, 185, Sr., R/R, Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area HS) pumped up his power numbers last week batting .647 with a 1.176 slugging percentage and a .700 on base percentage as the Vikings went 5-0. Hewes was 11-for-17 at the plate with three doubles, two home runs while scoring nine runs and driving in seven. In game one of a doubleheader against Minot State on Thursday, Hewes went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI before going 3-for-4 in game two with a home run. On Saturday, Hewes went 2-for-4 against Dakota State with a double, a home run and four RBI.
#32 Michael Willman, Jr. (RHP, 6-1, 204, So., R/R, Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong HS) threw the seventh no-hitter in Augustana history on Sunday in a 7-1 win over Morningside College. Willman finished the game with a career-high 11 strikeouts while allowing just one unearned run. The sophomore struck out two batters in five of the seven innings holding the Mustangs’ bats silent. Augustana’s last no-hitter was on March 17, 2006, when six Viking pitchers combined to hold Minnesota Crookston hitless. Willman’s no-no is the first by a single pitcher since Ross Hawley tossed one on March 12, 2000, against Minnesota Crookston.
 
Bemidji State
#30 Jaryd Marks (RHP/1B, 6-0, 220, Sr., L/R, Cottage Grove, Minn. / Iowa Lakes CC) posted a .593 batting average to guide the Beavers to a 6-0 week in NSIC play. In 27 at-bats he recorded 16 hits, drove in 10 runs and added 10 runs scored. He totaled 20 bases and posted a .621 on-base percentage. The senior had a .741 slugging percentage and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage after 26 putouts and two assists. The first baseman recorded two four-hit games and two three-hit games during the week. In a game against Minot State Monday, he went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI. In 27 at-bats he had just one strikeout.
#22 Logan Kalis (1B/RHP/OF, 6-3, 215, Sr., R/R, Little Falls, Minn. / Little Falls HS) recorded two of the six Bemidji State victories last week, as he went 2-0. In 13 innings pitched, the right-hander allowed just three earned runs on eight hits for a 2.08 ERA. He fanned 14 batters, while issuing just three walks. The opposition was only able to muster a .186 batting average on the week. One of Kalis’ wins came in a complete game shutout of Minnesota Crookston April 25. He allowed just two hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts and zero walks. He is 4-1 in 2013.
BSU is the second hottest squad in the NSIC entering the final week of conference play. BSU has won eight straight and moved into seventh in the conference standings with six games to play - all scheduled home games. Last week BSU went on the road and swept Minnesota Crookston 18-0 and 6-1 before heading further west on Highway 2 to sweep Minot State in a four-game series, 12-4, 11-1 (7), 4-3 and 21-1 (7). In the six games, the Beavers totaled 102 hits, 72 runs and 66 RBI with a .442 batting average. The pitching staff posted a 1.84 ERA and piled up 47 strikeouts. In the field, BSU recorded a .984 fielding percentage with just three errors. Bemidji State is scheduled to open the home portion of its schedule May 1 against Southwest Minnesota State before concluding the regular season against nationally-ranked St. Cloud State May 3-4.  

Concordia-St. Paul
#29 Zach Rengel (LHP, 6-2, 190, Fr., Fergus Falls, Minn./HS)
Concordia’s freshman southpaw pitched 6.1 one-hit, shutout innings to pick up a mid-week win over Southwest Minnesota State in a close 1-0 game. He struck out seven over the 6.1 innings, holding the Mustangs to a .048 average and without an extra base hit. His only blemish was a fourth inning one out single. Not only is he one of the top freshman in the league, he’s one of the top overall pitchers. In conference play, Rengel holds a 0.93 ERA, second in the league and he leads the league by holding opponents to a .094 average by allowing just six hits in three NSIC starts. In those three starts, he’s 3-0 and averaging 6.44 innings per start while striking out 11.64 batters per nine innings with 25 in 19.1 innings. Overall, he’s 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 32.1 innings in six starts.
 Concordia center fielder Greg Larpenter hit .353 (6-17) with a .542 OBP and .647 slugging percentage in six games last week. He reached base safely in all six (H, BB, HBP) and has successfully reached base in all 28 games this season. He had a pair of doubles, a home run and six runs scored … sophomore outfielder Trevon Bargfrede has emerged as a solid everyday player in his first year with the Golden Bears, and hit his second late-inning go-ahead home run on Thursday against SMSU in game two to put CU ahead 2-1. On the week, he led the team with five RBI while starting all six games and posted a .438 slugging percentage … junior right hander Adam Kramer took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning of game one of a four game series against USF, only allowing a leadoff chopper through the left side. He picked up the win, working 6.0 one-hit innings, allowing two runs (one earned) to improve to 5-1 in his seventh start while lowering his ERA to 2.68 … redshirt freshman Tyler Brekke made his first start of the year against SMSU and pitched into the ninth inning before losing his shutout bid, he did not factor into the decision as Concordia won in the bottom of the ninth. On the week, Brekke went 9.1 innings with a 1.93 ERA in two appearances, striking out four with no walks and a save.
 Concordia went 4-2 last week to climb above .500 in the league standings with a sweep over SMSU and a four game split with Sioux Falls … in the first win of the week over SMSU, head coach Mark “Lunch” McKenzie picked up his 300th career victory in his 14th season at the helm of the Concordia program … this week, Concordia travels to #12 Minnesota State today with a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader and then to Upper Iowa for a four game series to end the season, scheduled for Friday/Saturday with potential for a schedule change. Concordia is 4-17 all-time against the Mavericks but won the most recent meeting 6-0 last year in game two in Mankato to snap a six-game skid against MSU … Concordia is 2-4 in away games against MSU and 2-10 in conference games … against Upper Iowa, Concordia is 11-10 all-time and 6-5 on the road in Fayette, Iowa … Concordia is 7-5 against UIU in conference games and has is 7-4 in the last 11 games against UIU … this will be Concordia’s second trip to Fayette, playing Winona State on UIU’s field earlier in the season.

University of Mary
Jason Shaul (IF/OF, So., New Ulm, MN / Ridgewater CC), who continues to assault opposing pitchers at an impressive rate, hit .500 over six games during the last week. The infielder/outfielder went 8-of-16 with a double and a home run. He scored twice and drove in three runs. On the season Shaul is hitting .360 with an on base percentage of .445 and a slugging percentage of .604. He also leads the team in RBIs (26), home runs (6) and runs scored (23).
Jeff Skadeland (P, Sr., Williston, ND) picked up the Marauders lone win of the week in a 5-0 victory over the University of Sioux Falls. He pitched five shutout innings to earn his fifth win of the season, allowing three hits and four runs while picking up one strikeout. Shane Trattles picked up a save in the game, throwing two scoreless innings.
The Marauders honored six seniors on Monday. Playing their final games for U-Mary are Marice Burrough, James Carroll, Christopher Jolly, Jeff Skadeland, Michael Stevenson and Kyal Williams. All six have played key roles for the Marauders this season.
 
Minnesota Crookston
Matt Korte (Jr., P, St. Cloud, Minn.) went a full seven innings, pitching a four-hitter, holding the University of Minnesota Duluth to three runs in a 4-3 victory for University of Minnesota Crookston over UMD. Korte had three strikeouts in the game. The win for the Golden Eagles was the first of the season for UMC as they snapped a 34-game overall losing streak and a 20-game conference losing streak. Korte also picks up his first win of the season. He was clutch in the final two innings of play after UMD had tied the game at 3-3, retired six-of-seven batters faced with the only one reaching base on a walk.
Josh Brehmer (Jr., 2B/SS, Roseville, Minn.) - Went 9-for-24 hitting .375 from his leadoff spot for the week with four games against University of Minnesota Duluth and two versus Bemidji State University, the first home games of the season for UMC. Brehmer scored four runs on the week. He improved his average from .269 to .291. In the 4-3 win for the Golden Eagles Saturday to snap a 34-game losing streak, Brehmer went 1-for-3 scoring a run to put UMC up 3-0. Went 3-for-6 with one run scored in a 12-inning thriller that ended with a 7-6 Golden Eagle loss Sunday.

Minnesota Duluth
UMD picked up from a nine-day hiatus with a doubleheader sweep at Upper Iowa then took three of four games at Minnesota Crookston over the weekend after having all six contests moved away from Bulldog Park in Duluth as a result of still unplayable field conditions. The Bulldogs squeaked out a 4-3 win over the Peacocks on Wednesday, then stormed back to notch the sweep behind a 13-2 drubbing later in the afternoon. UMD carried that momentum into Saturday and outscored the Golden Eagles 31-13 in the four-game set despite picking up two dramatic, walk-off victories. Sunday’s 20-3 rout in favor of UMD accounted for nearly the entire scoring gap over the weekend as the Bulldogs parlayed the momentum from a 4-3, 12-inning win earlier in the day into an offensive clinic to close out the series. Rookie first baseman Alex Wojciechowski paced UMD at the plate with 13 hits in 26 at bats (including five in the first game Sunday afternoon). Senior infielder Orry Engebretsen went 7-for-18 against UMC with two extra base hits while freshman shortstop Kyle Comer went 6-for-18 with two doubles and his third home run of the year. The Bulldogs, who will finish the season without having played a single home game, are at Winona State on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season over the weekend at Northern State.

Minnesota State
#24 Stetson Olson (1B, 6-1, 210, Jr., S/R, Renton, Wash. / Washington State) led a balanced offensive effort for MSU going 7-for-16 at the dish with a homerun, three double, five runs scored and a team-best six RBI as the Mavericks claimed three-of-four from host Wayne State. Olson’s four extra-base hits helped him register an .813 slugging percentage, .471 on-base percentage and 13 total bases while adding a stolen base in the four-game set.
#32 Jason Hoppe (RHP, 6-1, 165, Jr., R/R, Sauk Rapids, Minn. / Sauk Rapids) extended his scoreless innings streak to 23 and improved to 6-1 overall after firing his second straight nine-inning complete-game shutout in MSU’s 6-0 victory over Wayne State Saturday afternoon. Hoppe struck out a season-high 14 batters while allowing only four hits to lower his season ERA to 1.53 with 69 strikeouts in 59.0 innings pitched as he ranks second in the NSIC in ERA while leading the league in strikeouts.
No. 11 Minnesota State saw its season-high 12 game winning streak snapped in the series finale with host Wayne State but did claim the series winning three-of-four games to improve to 29-8 overall and 18-4 in the NSIC. The Mavericks earned victories by margins of 15-4, 6-0 and 8-1 before dropping the final contest 3-1. MSU owns sole possession of second-place in the conference and hosts Concordia-St. Paul this Wednesday in its final NSIC and home games of the year before completing the regular-season with a three-game series at Truman State of the MIAA. Additionally, Matt Magers, who is in his fifth season as skipper of the Mavericks, joined the 200-win club with Saturday’s 15-4 defeat of WSC and now owns a 202-65 (.757) career record.

Minot State
Minot State baseball was swept by Bemidji State in a four-game series played on April 28 & 29 in Williston, N.D. On Sunday, the Beavers held leads after one inning in each game, but they couldn’t hold down the explosive BSU offense as they lost both games 12-4 and 11-1 (7). On Monday afternoon, Cole Stober (Sr., P, Hays, Alberta) pitched great in five of his six innings pitched; it was the one bad inning that cost Stober and the Beavers a win. In the fourth inning, Stober allowed a three-run homerun, as Bemidji State scored four runs in the inning to take a 4-2 lead. They never surrendered that lead as they won Game 3 of the weekend, 4-3. In the series finale, BSU exploded for 26 hits and 21 runs on their way to a 21-1 win, completing the series and season sweep. Offensively for Minot State, Connor Moughtin (Jr., C, Victoria, British Columbia) had a solid weekend, going 4-for-11 with three doubles and two RBI. Mitch Olson (Sr., 1B, Deloraine, Manitoba) was also good at the plate going 5-for-11 with two RBI. The Beavers will look to snap their 10-game losing streak on Wednesday, May 1 as they face University of Minnesota Crookston in Crookston, Minn.

Northern State
Nathan Nietfeld  (P, 6-4, 190, Sr., R/R, Paynesville, Minn./Paynesville Area HS/Ridgewater Coll.) tossed six perfect innings, but gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and two errors in a 3-2 loss to Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday afternoon.  Nietfeld finished with no walks and three strikeouts in the complete-game outing.
Derek Tymesen (3B, 6-0, 195, R/R, Spirit Lake, Idaho/Timberlake HS/Grays Harbor CC) went 4-for-7 from the plate with two RBIs and a run scored for the Wolves in a pair of one-run heartbreakers against Southwest Minnesota State.  Tymesen was 3-for-5 in Game 2 of the Saturday twin bill, driving in two runs with a two-out single as part of a four-run third inning for the Wolves. Northern State will play its first true home games of the season this weekend, hosting Minnesota-Duluth in a four-game set on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Sioux Falls
USF went 3-3 last week and currently sit in ninth place in the NSIC with four games to play.  On Thursday, the Cougars split a pair with the University of Mary at Augustana College’s Ronken Field. The weather was beautiful in the opener, but it wasn’t very pretty for the Cougars. Derek Fischer gave up three homers and four runs in the worst outing of his collegiate career and the Cougars dropped game one 5-0. Noah Coleman twirled a three-hitter to spark the Cougars to a 4-0 win in the nightcap. On Saturday, right-handed pitcher Henry Ojeda (3-4) threw a strong game and senior Damian Kardas went 3-for-5, with two homers and three runs batted in, to lead Sioux Falls to a split with Concordia- St. Paul in the Golden Bears’ home opener at Barnes Field. The Cougars dropped the opener, 5-2 but came back to rout the Golden Bears 10-2 in game two. In game one, Concordia-St. Paul junior righty Adam Kramer (5-1) took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before yielding Trevor Crow’s lead-off chopper through the left side of the infield. He allowed two runs on one hit with three strikeouts and two walks before handing the ball over to Adam Fredericks, who retired the Cougar side in the seventh to earn the save. A home run fest propelled the Cougars to a 10-2 romp over Concordia-St. Paul in the nightcap.  The Cougars got five homers from four different players and Damian Kardas belted two while USF got a stellar effort on the mound from Henry Ojeda. Ojeda was sensational the entire afternoon, scattering five hits with the solo homer being his only blemish. He walked four and struck out four. Fagely took the loss for the Golden Bears, falling to 3-3. He worked 6.1 innings and was charged with eight runs on 12 hits with three strikeouts. Freshman Trevor Crow blasted a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to propel the Cougars (18-22, 13-13 NSIC) to a double-header split with Concordia-St. Paul (16-12, 9-7) this afternoon at Barnes Field in St. Paul, Minn.  USF won game one in extras, 8-7, but squandered a four-run lead and dropped the second game 9-6. The Cougars trailed the opener 4-3 in the sixth, before a sacrifice fly by Kelby Beste scored Keith Cutler, who had doubled. The game went into extra innings and a fly ball lost ball in the sun proved fatal for Concordia and made Crow’s first-career home run much grander than anticipated. Crow’s trip around the bases ended with him getting mobbed at the plate by the Cougars. Noah Coleman struck out seven but took the no-decision. Coleman allowed four runs on four hits before being removed with one out in the seventh inning. He walked five and also hit a batter. Steve Schroer (3-2) earned the win in relief, giving up three runs on three hits with three walks in 1.2 innings of work. USF’s 6-2 lead in game two turned into a pumpkin, as the Golden Bears rallied for five runs in the third to knock Cougar starter Eric Brothers (3-4) out of the game. They would tack on two insurance runs in the sixth to end the Cougars’ frustrations. The Golden Bears’ comeback wasted back-to-back third inning homers by seniors Zach Ireland and Corey Vasquez. The Cougars will close out the regular season with a four-gamer with Winona State.

SMSU
MISUwas swept by Bemidji State in a four-game series played on April 28 & 29 in Williston, N.D. On Sunday, the Beavers held leads after one inning in each game, but they couldn’t hold down the explosive BSU offense as they lost both games 12-4 and 11-1 (7). On Monday afternoon, Cole Stober (Sr., P, Hays, Alberta) pitched great in five of his six innings pitched; it was the one bad inning that cost Stober and the Beavers a win. In the fourth inning, Stober allowed a three-run homerun, as Bemidji State scored four runs in the inning to take a 4-2 lead. They never surrendered that lead as they won Game 3 of the weekend, 4-3. In the series finale, BSU exploded for 26 hits and 21 runs on their way to a 21-1 win, completing the series and season sweep. Offensively for Minot State, Connor Moughtin had a solid weekend, going 4-for-11 with three doubles and two RBI. Mitch Olson (Sr., 1B, Deloraine, Manitoba) was also good at the plate going 5-for-11 with two RBI. The Beavers will look to snap their 10-game losing streak on Wednesday, May 1 as they face Minnesota Crookston in Crookston, Minn.

St. Cloud State
Zach Hoffman (Fr., New Ulm, Minn.) had a great weekend against U-Mary going 5-for-12 including two home runs with three runs and seven RBIs. These were the first home runs of Hoffman’s career.
 Logan Spitzack (Fr., West Concord, Minn.) earned his first collegiate start on the mound for the Huskies Monday against U-Mary. He pitched his first shutout victory only allowing three hits in seven innings of work. Spitzack totaled six strikeouts in 23 at-bats.
The St. Cloud State University baseball team traveled to Bismarck this weekend to take on the University of Mary in a two-day doubleheader series Sunday and Monday. The Huskies earned the sweep defeating the Marauders 10-2, 10-4, 4-0, and 10-0. On Sunday it was a series of home runs for the Huskies as Zach Hoffmann hit a home run over the left center field fence taking a 3-0 lead over U-Mary in the top of the second inning. St. Cloud State scored three runs in the sixth, with two on a home run over the left center field fence by Imholte. The Huskies sealed a 10-2 final in the top of the seventh as Michael Jurgella hit a solo home run down the left field line. Kyle Fischer was on the mound pitching six innings for the Huskies to earn the win in game one and move his record to 9-1 on the season. Scott Sanderson came in to relieve Fischer pitching in the seventh inning for three up and three down. Game two Sunday was similar to the first as the Huskies’ Zach Hoffmann hit a two-run homerun for his second of the day over the left center field fence. Hoffmann continued his hitting streak with a single to left field scoring Jurgella to take a 4-0 lead at the top of the third inning. St. Cloud State pulled away in the sixth inning as Loxtercamp hit a four run home run over the left field fence taking an 8-3 lead. The Huskies ended the eighth posting two more runs off of a home run by Borman in the eighth for a 10-4 final. Corey Fitzgerald was the pitcher in game two with the win for the Huskies improving his record to 4-0 on the season. In game one Monday, with two outs on the board and Eric Loxtercamp on first base it was Garrett Fischer showing up big for the Huskies with a triple and then scored on an error by the second baseman to take a 3-0 lead over the Marauders. Junior Chris Kubitz recorded the win in game one for the Huskies, pitching five innings and moving his record to 4-0 on the season. In game two on Monday Brian Hansen was the big hitter for the Huskies as he went 4-for-5 including a double with two runs and three RBIs. Another big hitter for SCSU was Garrett Fischer who went 3-for-5. Freshman Logan Spitzack earned his first collegiate start on the mound for the Huskies Monday, as well as his first win. Reese Gregory who finished the game relieved Spitzack after pitching seven innings.
St. Cloud State (27-5, 15-1 NSIC) will be back in action hosting their first home game at Joe Faber Field as they welcome the Augustana College Vikings to St. Cloud for a doubleheader Wednesday, May 1. The first pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
Upper Iowa
Martin Valdez (P, 5-7, 170, Jr., Baldwin Park, Calif.) threw his fifth complete game of the season on Saturday in Winona, Minn. as Upper Iowa picked up a 9-1 victory.  The junior lefthander threw seven innings against the Warriors of Winona State and gave up just one run on five hits while striking out 10 batters.  With the win, Valdez improved to 5-0 this season and dropped his ERA to 1.72.  Opposing batters are now hitting .207 against the southpaw and he has racked up 51 strikeouts on the season.
The Peacocks went 1-5 last week, but dropped three of those games by a single run falling short once against Minnesota Duluth and twice against Winona State on Sunday.  Eric Anderson (.429) posted the highest average of the week, while Will Loza (.333), Tyler Adams (.320) and John Dobson (.318) all were solid at the plate.  Ryan Citro provided the power with a pair of homeruns, while Mikey Henrichs led the team in rbi’s with six; he also hit a homerun in UIU’s lone win.  On the mound, UIU got solid starts from Mitch Luebbe and Tanner Funke, but UIU lost both of those low-scoring games by a single run.
Upper Iowa will look to make one final run at a postseason berth this week.  The Peacocks head to Wayne, Neb. this Thursday for a double header with the Wildcats of Wayne State before returning home for a four-game series with the Golden Bears of Concordia.  The final series of the regular season is set for Friday and Saturday with both twin bills starting at 12 p.m. in Fayette.

Wayne State
Kevin Andersen, a 5-10 190 pound sophomore catcher from Gretna, Nebraska (Gretna HS), went 5 for 15 at the plate over the weekend against #11 Minnesota State with one homer, one double and two RBI’s with two runs scored.  He had two multi-hit games against the Mavericks, going 2 for 4 with a double, RBI and run scored in Saturday’s 15-4 loss and was 2 for 3 in Sunday’s 8-1 loss.  He then closed the series with a solo homer, going 1 for 4 in a 3-1 Wildcat win in the series’ finale.
Michael Frericks, a 6-1 185 pound junior pitcher from St. Cloud, Minnesota (Apollo HS), won his fifth straight start on Sunday firing a complete game five hitter with nine strikeouts to slow down hot-hitting #11 Minnesota State in a 3-1 Wildcat win Sunday.  Frericks is now 5-1 on the season for the Wildcats with a 2.79 ERA and has two complete games in six starts and two combined shutouts.  He has 45 strikeouts in 38.2 innings pitched.
 
Winona State
Brett Young, Jr., 1B, Appleton, Wis. (East) had an outstanding week at the plate for the Warriors, batting .583 (7-of-12) with a slugging percentage of 1.083 in six games. Young hit a home run and drove in seven, with four of his seven hits on the week going for extra bases. The junior also stole a base and walked three times to post an on base percentage of .667. Young began his week with a three-run homer against Northern State, going 2-of-3 in the doubleheader. He followed by hitting a double in the first three games of WSU’s series against Upper Iowa, going 5-of-9 at the plate, He also scored three runs on the week.
Scott Freiburger, So., P, Hazel Green, Wis. (Southwestern) was outstanding in relief for the Warriors, posting a 1-0 record with one save and a 0.00 ERA in three appearances this week. Freiburger allowed just two hits in eight innings of work while striking out eight. He threw four innings of one-hit baseball against Northern State while striking out four to record the win. He followed with two no-hit innings against Upper Iowa Saturday and followed by allowing one hit in two innings to pick up the save Sunday against the Peacocks.