All-NSIC Release

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Three Southwest Minnesota State University baseball players were named to the 2009 All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Team in a vote of the league's 13 head coaches.

Senior outfielder Derek West and junior first baseman Andrew Kinney were each named first team All-NSIC, while sophomore left-handed pitcher Curtis Smith was named second team All-NSIC.  It's the first all-conference accolades for all three players in their careers.

West, a native of Chamberlain, S.D., is batting a team-high .471 this season with eight home runs, eight doubles, three triples, and 37 RBI.  He leads the team with 57 base hits and ranks second with eight stolen bases.

Kinney, a native of Coon Rapids, Minn., led the NSIC with 11 home runs in conference play and has belted a team-high 14 home runs overall in 38 games.  He is batting .396 with six doubles and has a team-high 47 RBI. 

Smith, a native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, finished the regular season 7-1 with a 4.50 ERA in nine appearances including eight starts.  Smith, who has one complete game shutout this season, has pitched 46 innings recording 40 strikeouts, while opponents have hit .286 against him.

SMSU, 27-11 overall, opened the NSIC Tournament on Thursday night with a 9-6 victory over Winona State and now faces Upper Iowa tonight, May 8, at 7 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minn.

Southwest Minnesota State, located in Marshall, Minn., is a member of NCAA?Division II?and competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.