Photo From VCSU Athletics

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (PlayNorthStar.com) – Valley City State’s Joelle Aiello has been named the North Star Athletic Association Softball Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.  Courtney Boll of Mayville State was selected as the Pitcher of the Week.

North Star Athletic Association Softball Player-of-the-Week
Joelle Aiello – Viterbo (Wis.) – Senior – infielder – Napa, Calif. – Aiello batted .591 (13-of-22 at the plate) with eight extra-base hits as Valley City State (N.D.) went 3-3 on the week.  She set the all-time school record after hitting her 53rd double.  For the week, Aiello totaled six doubles, two home runs, nine RBIs, and a 1.136 slugging percentage.  She also totaled 25 bases, scored nine runs, and swiped two bases.

North Star Athletic Association Softball Pitcher-of-the-Week
Courtney Boll – Mayville State (N.D.) – Sophomore – pitcher – West Fargo, N.D. – Boll produced an earned run average of 1.75 in the pitching circle as Mayville State (N.D.) went 1-3 record in the NSAA four-game series at Dakota State.  She pitched 12 total innings in the four-game series, earning a complete game victory in the series finale (11-4 victory.  Boll allowed seven runs (four unearned) on 17 hits and totaled 13 strikeouts (7.6 K/7) during the series.  She struck out eight times in game two of the series and five times in the series finale.

Recap from last week’s games
Bellevue (Neb.) fell short in a single-game non-conference at College of Saint Mary (Neb.) by the score of 5-4 in nine innings on March 30.  The Bruins opened the North Star Athletic Association’s four-game home series with Valley City State (N.D.) with a doubleheader sweep on April 2 by the scores of 7-2 and 14-2 in five innings.  The Vikings handed BU’s first conference defeat of the season with a 7-4 game one victory on April 3.  Bellevue rallied back to win the four-game series finale with an 11-9 victory.  The Bruins are 21-10 overall record and maintains the sole possession for first place in the conference standings with a 7-1 record.

VCSU completed the four-game series sweep of Dickinson State (N.D.) in the conference opener on March 28.  The Vikings won by the scores of 17-16 (from the completion of March 27 game), followed by 17-5 in five innings victory and closed with an 11-7 win.  Valley City State is 18-13 overall record.

The Blue Hawks swept the NSAA doubleheader at Viterbo (Wis.) by the scores of 9-6 and 8-5 on April 3.  Dickinson State is 10-18 overall record and 2-4 record in the league.  The V-Hawks opened their home schedule with a doubleheader sweep over NCAA Division III Martin Luther (Minn.) on March 29 by the scores of 9-1 in five innings and 12-11.  VU is 3-19 overall record and 0-6 NSAA conference record.

Dakota State (S.D.), which fell short at Mount Marty (S.D.) in both games on March 29, went 3-1 record in the NSAA four-game home series with Mayville State (N.D.).  The Trojans swept the Comets 3-2 and 4-2 on April 2.  DaSU won in an 18-17 high scoring affair in the first game on April 3, while MSU closed the four-game series with a 11-4 victory.  Dakota State is 8-15 overall record, while Mayville State is 5-18 overall record.

Waldorf (Iowa) swept Presentation (S.D.) on April 2.  The Warriors won the series opener in a 26-13 high scoring affair in five innings, followed by a 4-3 victory in the second game.  The Saints earned a 10-1 victory in the first game on April 3 before WU closed the series with an 11-1 win.  Waldorf is 5-15 overall record.  Presentation is 10-13 overall record and 4-4 NSAA conference record.

Valley City State, Dakota State, and Waldorf are tied for second in the North Star Athletic Association softball standings with a 5-3 record.

Looking Ahead
Dickinson State (N.D.) and Viterbo (Wis.) completes their North Star conference four-game series with another doubleheader Monday (today).

Waldorf (Iowa) remains at home on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader with Dordt (Iowa).  The Warriors also host St. Ambrose (Iowa) in another non-conference doubleheader on Thurdsay.

A pair of games are scheduled to play during the mid-week NSAA action.  Valley City State (N.D.) stays on the road to Mayville State (N.D.), while Presentation (S.D.) visits Dickinson State (N.D.).

The North Star Athletic Association action continues with another four-game series on Saturday and Sunday.  Schedule includes Bellevue (Neb.) at Dickinson State; Viterbo (Wis.) at Valley City State; Waldorf at Mayville State (N.D.) and Dakota State (S.D.) at Presentation.

Monday’s Games
Dickinson State (N.D.) @ Viterbo (Wis.) – Doubleheader – 11 a.m. (Central Time)/10 a.m. (Mountain Time)

Tuesday’s Games
Dordt (Iowa) @ Waldorf (Iowa) – Doubleheader – 4 p.m.

Wednesday’s Games
Valley City State (N.D.) @ Mayville State (N.D.) – Doubleheader – 2 p.m.
Presentation (S.D.) @ Dickinson State (N.D.) – Doubleheader – 3 p.m. (Central Time)/2 p.m. (Mountain Time)

Thursday’s Games
St. Ambrose (Iowa) @ Waldorf (Iowa) – Doubleheader – 4 p.m.

Saturday’s Games
Viterbo (Wis.) @ Valley City State (N.D.) – Doubleheader – 1 p.m.
Dakota State (S.D.) @ Presentation (S.D.) – Doubleheader – 2 p.m.
Waldorf (Iowa) @ Mayville State (N.D.) – Doubleheader – 2 p.m.
Bellevue (Neb.) @ Dickinson State (N.D.) – 2 p.m. (Central Time)/1 p.m. (Mountain Time)

Sunday’s Games
Dakota State (S.D.) @ Presentation (S.D.) – Doubleheader – 12 p.m.
Waldorf (Iowa) @ Mayville State (N.D.) – Doubleheader – 12 p.m.
Viterbo (Wis.) @ Valley City State (N.D.) – Doubleheader – 1 p.m.
Bellevue (Neb.) @ Dickinson State (N.D.) – 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time)

2022 NSAA Softball Conference Standings