BISMARCK, ND (PlayNorthStar.com) – The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) announced its first edition of the softball Players-of-the-Week Monday.  Camile Vestal of Presentation (S.D.) was selected as the Player-of-the-Week.  There were no nominees for NSAA Softball Pitcher-of-the-Week.

North Star Athletic Association Softball Pitcher-of-the-Week
No nominees.

North Star Athletic Association Softball Player-of-the-Week
Camile Vestal – Presentation (S.D.) – Junior – catcher/infielder – Madera, Calif. – Vestal posted a batting average of .556 in fueling Presentation (S.D.) to a home doubleheader sweep over Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.).  She was 3-of-4 at the plate in the first game, which highlighted with a grand slam and drove in five runs in PC’s 15-7 victory.  She followed up with 2-of-5 at the plate in the second game with a double and four RBIs as the Saints rallied for a 13-12 thrilling win.  For the week, Vestal was 5-of-9 at the plate with a home run, double, and collected nine RBIs.  She also produced a slugging percentage of 1.000 and an on-base percentage of .556.

Recap from last week’s games
Bellevue (Neb.), receiving votes in the NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Coaches’ Preseason Poll, opened the season with a 4-0 record.  The Bruins made their season debut with a 2-1 upset victory over NAIA’s top-ranked team Oklahoma City followed by a 3-0 shutout victory over Texas Wesleyan on Feb. 11.  BU closed out the tournament with an 8-0 5-inning win over No. 16 Columbia (Mo.) on Feb. 12, followed by a 6-2 victory over Panhandle State (Okla.).  Bellevue returned to action in the Dordt (Iowa) Dome Tournament, dropping all three games.  The Bruins were shutout by Northwestern (Iowa) 6-0 on Feb. 24 and Morningside (Iowa) 4-0 on Feb. 25.  BU closed the tournament after falling to the host-team Dordt (Iowa) 5-1 on Feb. 25.  Bellevue is 4-3 overall record on the season.

Valley City State (N.D.) played a total of 12 games in the dome tournaments during the month of February.  The Vikings went 2-1 record on their season opening day on Feb. 4 in Minot, N.D., defeating NCAA Division II Mary (N.D.) 17-12 and Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 12-9.  VCSU fell to Carroll (Mont.) 7-6 in the second game of the season and closed the tournament with a 10-7 setback to NCAA Division II Minot State (N.D.) on Feb. 5.  Valley City State played in the Presentation (S.D.) Dome Tournament on Feb. 10-11, going 1-3 record with a win over Jamestown (N.D.) 10-6 on Feb. 10.  The Vikings fell to Minnesota State-Moorhead 9-1 on Feb. 10, Morningside 9-0 in six innings and Northern State (S.D.) 12-11 on Feb. 11.  VCSU earned another 10-6 victory over UJ on Feb. 17 in PC Dome tournament, followed by a 12-3 defeat to Minnesota State-Moorhead.  The Vikings completed the month of February with a 4-3 setback to Doane (Neb.) 4-3 in eight innings followed by a 13-1 victory over College of Saint Mary (Neb.).  Valley City State is 5-7 overall record.

Dickinson State (N.D.) is 4-2 overall record on the season, splitting their first four games in the Presentation Dome Tournament on Feb. 17-18.  The Blue Hawks split a pair of games on the first day, falling to Jamestown 7-2 and defeating College of Saint Mary 10-6.  DiSU earned their second win over College of Saint Mary 10-3 on the second day before dropping a 5-2 contest to Jamestown.  Dickinson State followed up with a doubleheader sweep over Doane (Neb.) 4-2 and 9-1 on Feb. 19 in Aberdeen.

Presentation (S.D.) dropped their first five contests of the season.  The Saints went 0-4 record in their first dome tournament to Doane (Neb.) 2-0 and Morningside 12-2 on Feb. 10, followed by 12-2 setback to Doane and 8-2 defeat to Jamestown on Feb. 11.  PC fell short in the first game to College of Saint Mary 9-8 before earning a 6-3 victory on Feb. 19.  Presentation wrapped up the month of February with a doubleheader sweep over Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Feb. 25, winning 15-7 in six innings in game one and rallying back for 13-12 victory in the second game.

Waldorf (Iowa) split their two games on their season-opening day on Feb. 11 with Clarke (Iowa).  The Pride won the first game 7-3, while the Warriors won the second game 3-1.  WU added a split on Feb. 18, defeating Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 10-1 in six innings, and fell to Saint Ambrose (Iowa) 8-0 in five innings.  Waldorf went 1-3 record in the Dordt Dome Tournament to wrap up the month of February.  WU dropped contests to Morningside 7-1 and Dordt 8-2 on Feb. 24.  The Warriors were shut out by Northwestern 6-0 before concluding the tournament with a 3-2 victory over College of Saint Mary.  Waldorf is 3-5 overall record on the season.

Mayville State (N.D.) went 0-4 record in the first Dordt Dome tournament.  The Comets lost to York (Neb.) 6-0 and Mount Marty (S.D.) 5-1 on the first day on Feb. 17.  MSU fell to Dordt 8-0 and Northwestern 9-1 on Feb. 18.

Dakota State (S.D.) could not come up with a win in eight games of the Dordt Dome Tournament (0-8 overall record).  The Trojans fell to Northwestern 7-1 and Dordt 6-5 on the first day of the 2023 season on Feb. 17.  DaSU lost to York 6-4 and Mount Marty 12-5 on Feb. 18.  Dakota State recorded 12-5 defeat to Northwestern and 15-13 setback to College of Saint Mary on Feb. 24.  Morningside defeated the Trojans 10-0 and Dordt held on to beat DaSU 7-4 on Feb. 25.

Viterbo (Wis.) have not yet started their 2023 season, despite cancelling their season-opening doubleheader with Clarke (Iowa) on Feb. 25.  The V-Hawks open their season on March 4-5 in the series at Indiana Tech.

Looking Ahead
Dakota State (S.D.) are set to play in the Friends (Kan.) round-robin tournament on Friday and Saturday with a four-game slate with MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Concordia (Neb.), Peru State (Neb.), and host-team Friends.  Waldorf (Iowa) is also scheduled to compete in the Friends tournament on the same days, facing Peru State (Neb.), Doane (Neb.), Missouri Valley, and MidAmerican Nazarene.

Viterbo (Wis.) is set to open their 2023 season on Saturday and Sunday in a series at Indiana Tech.  The V-Hawks will also play Indiana University Purdue at Indiana Tech on Sunday.

Bellevue (Neb.) kicks off their week-long THE Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. on Sunday versus Northwestern Ohio.

Friday’s Games
Friends (Kan.) Round Robin Tournament – Wichita, Kan.
Dakota State (S.D.) vs. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) – 2 p.m.
Waldorf (Iowa) vs. Peru State (Neb.) – 2 p.m.
Dakota State (S.D.) vs. Concordia (Neb.) – 6 p.m.
Waldorf (Iowa) vs. Doane (Neb.) – 6 p.m.

Saturday’s Games
Friends (Kan.) Round Robin Tournament – Wichita, Kan.
Dakota State (S.D.) vs. Peru State (Neb.) – 10 a.m.
Waldorf (Iowa) vs. Missouri Valley – 12 p.m.
Dakota State (S.D.) @ (RV) Friends (Kan.) – 2 p.m.
Waldorf (Iowa) vs. MidAmerican Nazarene (Kan.) – 4 p.m.
Viterbo (Wis.) @ Indiana Tech – 12 p.m.

Sunday’s Games
THE Spring Games – Clermont, Fla.
(RV) Bellevue (Neb.) vs. Northwestern Ohio – 1 p.m.
Viterbo (Wis.) vs. Indiana University Purdue @ Indiana Tech – 11 a.m.
Viterbo (Wis.) @ Indiana Tech – 2 p.m.

2023 NSAA Softball Conference Standings