BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for baseball and softball on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel and St. Olaf claimed the Conference's weekly honors.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the spring season, team sports (baseball, softball, and tennis) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (golf and indoor track & field) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
To view each sport's 2023-24 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2023-24 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Baseball Player of the Week
Isaac Call
Bethel University
Jr. | Outfield
Kerkhoven, Minn. | Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
Isaac Call led the Royals to a 4-1 week hitting .588 with a 1.118 slugging percentage and .611 on-base mark. Going a combined 10-for-17 at the plate, he drove in six runs with three doubles and two home runs while crossing the plate six times. In a sweep of St. Scholastica on 5/1 that locked in a MIAC Playoff spot, Call was a combined 5-for-8 with three runs and three RBI that included a home run in game one. In the regular season finale against UW-Stout, he was 3-for-5 with two runs and drove in three runs in game one that included a two-run, game-tying homer to left field.
MIAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Sam Lavin
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Right-handed Pitcher
Algonquin, Ill. | Marian Catholic Central
Sam Lavin pitched the Oles to an outright MIAC regular-season title with a complete-game effort in a 12-1 victory over Hamline on 5/1. The senior held the Pipers to one run on three hits with nine strikeouts while moving into a tie for the conference lead with six wins this season.
MIAC Softball Player of the Week
Anne Fossum
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Third Base
Northfield, Minn.
Anne Fossum posted a slash line of .538/.563/1.154 with two doubles, two home runs, two walks, six runs scored, and eight RBI in the Oles' 4-0 week that saw the team clinch a playoff spot. The senior had two hits in three of the four wins, including homering in both games of a sweep of Concordia on 5/4 while driving in a combined six runs in the two games.
MIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Kayla Simacek
Bethel University
Sr. | Pitcher
Hastings, Minn.
Kayla Simacek led the Royals to a share of their third consecutive regular-season MIAC title, going 3-1 in the circle with a 0.60 ERA. In four appearances and three starts, she struck out 25 hitters and walked two in 23.1 innings of work while only giving up two runs. In a sweep of St. Scholastica on 5/1, Simacek tossed her second no-hitter of the year by striking out nine in an 8-0 game one victory. In game two out of the bullpen, she threw 5.1 innings of shutout softball while striking out six. At Saint Benedict on 5/4, she helped the Royals earn a share of the MIAC title tossing her eighth shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory where she struck out seven Bennies.