BISMARCK, ND (PlayNorthStar.com) – The North Star Athletic Association announced their ninth installment of the Baseball Players-of-the-Week Monday by the conference office.  Grant Svikulis of Dakota State (S.D.) was selected as the Pitcher-of-the-Week.  Gavin Daniel of Viterbo (Wis.) was chosen as the Player-of-the-Week.

North Star Athletic Association Baseball Pitcher-of-the-Week
Grant Svikulis – Dakota State (S.D.) – Senior – pitcher – Excelsior, Minn. – Svikulis nearly recorded a no-hitter complete game as Dakota State (S.D.) went 4-1 record for the week.  He threw a complete game in 7-1 Trojans’ game two victory over Valley City State (N.D.), despite giving up the first hit in the top seventh inning.  He yielded the Vikings to one run on two hits.  Svikulis struck out VCSU’s batters a season-high 14 times (18.0 K/9 innings), racking up a total of 35 strikeouts in DaSU’s doubleheader sweep of the Vikings.

North Star Athletic Association Baseball Player-of-the-Week
Gavin Daniel – Viterbo (Wis.) – Junior – outfielder – Oconomowoc, Wis. – Daniel produced a batting average of .625, a slugging percentage of .813, and an on-base percentage of .727 as Viterbo (Wis.) went 5-0 record for the week.  He was 10-of-16 at the plate (10-of-13 at the plate during VU’s four-game series sweep versus Presentation, S.D.) with three doubles and drove in seven runs.  Daniel scored nine runs and recorded four walks.  He swiped two bases.  Defensively, Daniel registered a perfect 1.000 field percentage with 11 total chances and 11 put-outs.

Recap from last week’s games
Dakota State (S.D.) stretched their winning streak to 21 games after an 8-2 victory in the first game at Dickinson State (N.D.) on April 18.  The Blue Hawks handed the Trojans their first North Star conference setback of the season after a 2-1 victory in the four-game series finale.  Dakota State played their first home game of the season on April 18, routing their rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 16-2 in seven innings.  The Trojans added two more home wins on April 23 after sweeping Valley City State (N.D.) 5-3 and 7-1.  Dakota State is 31-13 overall record and 21-1 record in the league.  The Vikings are 11-27 overall record and 7-15 NSAA conference record.

Waldorf (Iowa) swept Dickinson State in a doubleheader on April 23 in Forest City, Iowa.  The Warriors won the first game 5-1 and 6-4 in the second game.  WU is 18-21 overall record and 13-9 NSAA conference record.  The Blue Hawks are 15-25 overall record and 7-14 record in North Star contests.

No. 5 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) wrapped up their non-conference slate with a 12-4 road victory at Morningside (Iowa) on April 18.  The Bruins split with Mayville State (N.D.) in a doubleheader on April 21, winning the first game 4-3 and losing 4-2 in the second game.  Bellevue swept the Comets 6-3 and 9-1 on April 22.  BU is 38-7 overall record and 22-2 NSAA conference record.  Mayville State is 17-21 overall record and 11-12 record in the North Star.

Viterbo (Wis.) ended their eight-game winning streak with a five-game winning streak last week.  The V-hawks defeated Mount Mercy (Iowa) 5-4 on the road on April 19.  VU followed up with a four-game home series sweep of Presentation (S.D.).  Viterbo swept the Saints 17-1 in seven innings and 6-4 on April 22, followed by 17-7 eight inning and 8-5 wins on April 23.  The V-Hawks improved to 13-27 overall record and 10-14 NSAA conference record.  PC fell to 0-38 overall record and 0-24 NSAA conference record.

Looking Ahead
Two North Star Athletic Association four-game series will be completed Monday (today) with Valley City State (N.D.) at Dakota State (S.D.) and Dickinson State (N.D.) at Waldorf (Iowa).

Presentation (S.D.) plays a non-conference doubleheader at Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Tuesday evening.

The final North Star Athletic Association four-game series will take place on Friday and Saturday.  Dakota State and Bellevue (Neb.) battle for the top two spots in the league.  Valley City State (N.D.) travels to Mayville State (N.D.), while Viterbo (Wis.) remains at home versus Waldorf (Iowa).  Presentation is slated to host Dickinson State in a four-game series.

            Tuesday’s Games
Presentation (S.D.) @ Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) – 5 p.m. – Doubleheader

Friday’s Games – Final NSAA regular-season four-game series
Waldorf (Iowa) @ Viterbo (Wis.) – 1 p.m. – Doubleheader
Dakota State (S.D.) @ (5) Bellevue (Neb.) – 1 p.m. – Doubleheader
Dickinson State (N.D.) @ Presentation (S.D.) – 1 p.m. – Doubleheader
Valley City State (N.D.) @ Mayville State (N.D.) – 1 p.m. – Doubleheader

Saturday’s Games – Final NSAA regular-season four-game series
Waldorf (Iowa) @ Viterbo (Wis.) – 12 p.m. – Doubleheader
Dakota State (S.D.) @ (5) Bellevue (Neb.) – 12 p.m. – Doubleheader
Dickinson State (N.D.) @ Presentation (S.D.) – 12 p.m. – Doubleheader
Valley City State (N.D.) @ Mayville State (N.D.) – 1 p.m. – Doubleheader

2023 NSAA Baseball Conference Standings

The NSAA Player of the Week is selected from a pool of conference players of the week.  Sports information director representatives from each conference institution may nominate players for the specific conference award in each category.  A voting panel comprising of sports information directors from each conference institution vote using the PrestoSports secure platform.