April 15, 2024

MADISON, S.D. – JD Kirchner of Dakota State (S.D.) was selected by the North Star Athletic Association Monday as the baseball's Pitcher-of-the-Week honor.  The eighth installment of the NSAA baseball weekly honors was announced by the conference office.

Kirchner, a senior right-handed pitcher from Lennox, S.D., earned a save and a pitching victory on the same day for the Trojans by the identical scores of 2-0 at Valley City State (N.D.) on April 13.  The Trojans earned the NSAA four-game series victory over the Vikings with a 3-1 record.

Kirchner earned a save after tossing 1 1/3 shutout innings in the third game of the four-game series.  He collected his fifth save of the season, holding VCSU to one hit and registered three strikeouts.  He surpassed the previous record held by Jeremy Daul with 12 career saves from 2003-04.

Kirchner followed up with a pitching victory in the four-game series finale, where the game went to 10 innings.  He improved to a 3-1 record after tossing four shutout innings and held VCSU to one hit. 

He finished the day by pitching 5 1/3 shutout innings in relief and registered eight strikeouts (13.5 strikeouts/per 9 inning ratio) and held Valley City State to two total hits.

After the games last weekend at Valley City State, Kirchner tossed 28 2/3 innings this season and recorded 46 strikeouts for Dakota State.  He leads the North Star conference in total saves with five saves.

Kirchner is a finance and management major at Dakota State University.

Dakota State carries their 31-10 overall record, their third consecutive 30-plus victories, with five games scheduled this week.  The Trojans host rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) Tuesday evening.  The first pitch is set for 5 p.m. at Flynn Field in downtown Madison.

DSU returns to North Star conference action Friday and Saturday as they take on No. 16 ranked Bellevue (Neb.) in the battle of the top two teams in the league.  The Bruins are 15-1 record in the conference, followed by the Trojans with a 14-2 record in the North Star.  The doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. on Saturday, with the four-game series being played at John Stella Field at Brown Park in Omaha, Neb.