The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that Luther College baseball players Nick DuFoe (Adel, Iowa/Adel-DeSoto-Minburn) and Kelby Johnson (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) have been named Co-American Rivers Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, May 23, 2021.
The duo helped lead Luther to the American Rivers Conference Tournament championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA III National Baseball Tournament. The tournament title was the third for the Norse.
Dufoe picked up two wins during the A-R-C Tournament, including the championship game. He pitched 8.2 innings in the 11-5 victory over Wartburg on Thursday, May 20. Three days later he pitched six full innings in the 4-2 win over top-seeded Coe in the championship game. Over the course of the A-R-C Tournament (Thursday-Sunday) he threw 14.2 innings and allowed four earned runs, while striking out five.
Johnson batted .600 (12-for-20), scoring nine runs while driving in six rbi. He tallied five doubles, one triple, and a home run for a slugging percentage of 1.500. Defensively, the Lakeville, Minn. native recorded a .906 fielding percentage, recording eight put outs and 21 assists.
Luther will be making its sixth appearance in the NCAA III National Baseball Tournament and the second under the direction of Head Coach Bryan Nikkel (2016, 2021).
