2024 MIAC SOFTBALL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second time this season, Augsburg University pitcher Morgann Paaske (JR, Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central HS) was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week, it was announced on Monday.

Paaske went 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA in three starts during the past week, as the Auggies went 5-1 on the week. She had 13 strikeouts against two walks and 16 hits in 18.0 innings pitched, with a .246 opponent batting average. On Tuesday, she pitched her second shutout of the season, striking out two against one walk and six hits in the Auggies' 2-0 second-game win over St. Scholastica. On Saturday, she had five strikeouts against a walk and six hits in Augsburg's 2-1 win over Gustavus, and on Sunday, she struck out six against no walks and four hits in 4.0 innings of work in the Auggies' 10-1, five-inning win over Concordia-Moorhead. She also hit .333 (3-of-9) on the week with five runs scored, a double and a home run, driving in a pair of runs.

A transfer from NAIA program Trinity International (Ill.), Paaske is now 10-3 on the season with a 3.39 ERA, with 50 strikeouts against 29 walks and a .280 opponent batting average in 14 games pitched (76.1 innings). Her 50 strikeouts are tied for sixth among MIAC pitchers, and her 10 wins are tied for second-most in the conference.

Now 21-7 overall and 6-4 in MIAC play, Augsburg hosts St. Olaf in an MIAC doubleheader on Wednesday (3/17) at 3:30 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field, and travels to face Carleton in an MIAC doubleheader on Saturday (4/20) at 1 p.m. in Northfield, Minn.