Augustana controls NSIC All-Conference softball awards

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference has announced their All-Conference awards, following the conclusion of the softball regular season.

Augustana’s Torri Chute was named the Player of the Year, while Andrea Cain earned Freshman of the Year and Lexi Lander the Newcomer of the Year.

Here’s details from the conference on the awards:

NSIC Player of the Year
#10 Torri Chute (U, 5-6, JR., Woodbury, Minn. / Stillwater HS)
Augustana University
– Led NSIC with a .524 average over the 28-game NSIC season
– Posted a league-best .917 slugging percentage after recording nine doubles and eight home runs as part of her 44 hits
– For the season, hit at a .453 clip 
– Helped Augustana to its third-straight NSIC Championship
– Is the third Viking to earn NSIC Player of the Year, joining Sarah Kennedy (2015/17) and Kendall Cornick (2021)

NSIC Pitcher of the Year
#24 Lauren Dixon (LHP, 5-6, Jr., Sobieski, Wis. / Pulaski HS)
University of Minnesota Duluth
– Went 17-4 on the season, a winning percentage of 80.95%, across 28 appearances and 133.1 innings of work
– Recorded an ERA of 1.73 that was second in the NSIC
– Held opposing hitters to a batting average of just .184 to go with 189 strikeouts
– Ranks eighth in the country in strikeouts per seven innings with 9.9
– Ranks 11th nationally in shutouts with eight
– Allowed just 4.78 hits per seven innings, an NSIC-leading mark
– A three-time NSIC Pitcher of the Week, with those wins all coming in a row between April 4 and April 18
– Earned Division II Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week award on April 4, becoming the first UMD player to do so
– Allowed no runs, 10 hits and seven walks compared to 45 strikeouts in 22.1 innings of work in that NFCA Pitcher of the Week effort
– Tallied a season-high of 15 strikeouts in a 2-0 win against Minot State, the second of four-straight games with double-digit K’s
– Surpassed 500 career strikeouts, currently sitting with 546 (just one away from a tie for the program record)

NSIC Freshman of the Year
#20 Andrea Cain (RF, 5-5, R-Fr., Sioux Falls, S.D. / Brandon Valley HS)
Augustana University
– Ranked seventh in the NSIC with her .429 batting average during the NSIC season
– Ranked second in the NSIC with four triples
– Totaled six triples on the season
– Recorded a school-record two triples in one game when she achieved the feat on April 11 against Sioux Falls
– Helped Augustana to its third-straight NSIC Championship
– Is the sixth Viking to earn the NSIC Freshman of the Year

NSIC Newcomer of the Year
#32 Lexi Lander (RHP, 5-9, Jr. Onawa, Iowa / West Monona HS) 
Augustana University
– Posted a 2.00 ERA while pitching to an 11-3 NSIC record
– Pitched a seven-inning perfect game on April 2 against Minnesota State
– Held NSIC opponents to a .189 batting average, second best in the league
– Helped Augustana to its third-straight NSIC Championship
– Is the third Viking to earn NSIC Newcomer of the Year joining Lexy Pederson (2017) and Abby Lien (2021)

NSIC Coach of the Year
Mike Armitage
Minnesota State University Moorhead 
– Led the Dragons to a 28-14 record, a 20-win improvement from 2022 (8-36, 5-23 NSIC)
– Guided the Dragons to their first regular season with a plus .500 record since 2007
– The 28 wins are the most in program history since 2007 with their 16 NSIC wins being the most since the conference expanded in membership
– Helped snap MSUM’s 15-year postseason drought in the process
– The team has set single-season school records in on-base percentage, runs scored and runs batted in

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, 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 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 25 team national championships and crowned 90 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 have the opportunity to 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.