College softball
Swartz, Tauer earn all-region
St. Scholastica second baseman Kristin Swartz and third baseman Theresa Tauer have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III all-Midwest Region second team, announced Tuesday.
Swartz, a junior from Hermantown, was named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference player of the year Monday after batting .383 with six home runs, seven triples and 37 RBIs.
Tauer, a freshman from Plymouth, Minn., led the conference with a .487 batting average while adding nine home runs, 47 RBIs and 100 total bases.
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College tennis
Sterle named player of the year
St. Scholastica junior Dillon Sterle of Hibbing has been named UMAC men's tennis player of the year, while Wells Patten was named coach of the year.
Sterle went 11-10 this season, including 8-0 in conference play. Joining Sterle on the all-conference team are Brendan Anderson (so., Plymouth, Minn.), Tim Dean (jr., Rhinelander, Wis.), Jacob Engelstad (fr., Thief River Falls, Minn.), Kevin Hilpert (fr., Stillwater, Minn.) and Brian Lindberg (fr., Hermantown).
Patten, who guided the Saints to their 13th straight conference title and 10th tournament title, is the UMAC coach of the year for the eighth time and fifth time in the past six years.
Six Saints named to all-conference team
Six St. Scholastica women's players have been named to the UMAC all-conference team, including player of the year Ploy Suthijindawong.
Suthijindawong, a freshman from Bangkok who played at Duluth Central, went 18-1 in singles matches, including 4-0 in conference play.
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She is joined on the team by Paula Beckermann (jr., Spicer, Minn.), Callee Conda (so., Hibbing), Katie Motley (jr., Eveleth), Angela Shields (jr., Pengilly) and Lynnae Wilke (sr., Parkers Prairie, Minn.).
The Saints will now play Luther College at 3 p.m. Thursday in St. Peter, Minn., in the NCAA Division III tennis tournament, a day earlier than originally planned. College soccer
Fargo duo heads to St. Scholastica
Shannon Lee and Julianne Levich of Fargo (N.D.) South High School have committed to playing women's soccer at St. Scholastica next fall.
Lee, a midfielder/forward, is a three-year starter for the Bruins who led the 2008 state champions in scoring. Levich, a defender, is a two-year starter who served as a team captain with Lee.
Baseball
Former Husky makes major league debut
Former Duluth Huskies pitcher Fernando Rodriguez made his Major League Baseball debut Saturday in the Los Angeles Angels' 8-4 road victory over the New York Yankees.
Rodriguez, 24, entered the game in the ninth inning and retired the first two batters he faced before allowing a two-run home run to Jorge Posada. A walk and error extended the inning and Rodriguez was replaced.
Rodriguez had mediocre results in Class AA before he was moved to the bullpen last August, where he went 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA before getting off to a great start in Class AAA this spring.
Rodriguez, who made two saves in a three-week stint with the Huskies in 2003, is the fourth former Husky to make it to the big leagues, joining fellow pitchers Joe Bisenius, Doug Mathis and Mark Melancon, who made his debut with the Yankees just over one week ago.
Amateur football
Stampede open season Saturday
The Bayside Vipers opened their season with a 7-0 and 13-3 sweep of the St. Croix Ravens on Sunday in Solon Springs.
Marcus Besonen went the distance in the first game, giving up just four hits while striking out two, and he helped himself offensively by going 2-for-3 with five RBIs.
Pat Diedrich allowed just two hits and no runs in five innings to get the win in the second game, while Pat Davy was 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs.
The Superior Stampede kick off the 2009 season against Northern Elite Football League rival Chippewa Valley at 4 p.m. Saturday at Ole Haugsrud Field.
The Stampede beat the Predators three times last season, including the conference championship game. Chippewa Valley plays out of Eau Claire, Wis.
