North Star Athletic Association Baseball Player-of-the-Week
Dustin Mertz – Valley City State (N.D.) – 6’1″ – Freshman – catcher/utility – West Fargo, N.D. – Mertz smashed a home run in five of Valley City State’s (N.D.) six games as they went 4-2 record for the week. He posted a batting average of .579 by going 11-of-19 at the plate. He registered an on-base percentage of .692 and a 1.474 slugging percentage. For the week, Mertz scored 13 runs, drove in 11 runs, reached on base by a walk six times, and hit two doubles. He also swiped two bases.
North Star Athletic Association Baseball Pitcher-of-the-Week
Corey Jackson – Bellevue (Neb.) – 5’10” – Senior – pitcher – Calgary, Alberta, Canada – Jackson struck out a total of 18 batters, setting a school record for a seven-inning game victory as Bellevue (Neb.) went 5-0 record for the week. He tossed a complete game 3-0 victory at Viterbo (Wis.), limiting the V-Hawks to four hits. It was Jackson’s third complete game shutout of the year and recorded at least 10 strikeouts for the third straight game. He posted an earned run average (ERA) with 62 strikeouts in his last 38 innings for work (14.7 strikeouts per 9 innings).