Photos by J. Alan Paul Photography
BIO
POSITION: Pitcher
HEIGHT: 5’6’’
CLASS: Senior
THROWS: Right
HOMETOWN: Sparks, Nevada
HIGH SCHOOL: Reed High School
CAREER STATS
APPEARANCES: 114
GAMES STARTED: 88
INNINGS: 597
RECORD: 54-36
ERA: 2.72
STRIKEOUTS: 633
COMPLETE GAMES: 70
SHUTOUTS: 13
Bison pitcher Jacquelyn (Jax) Sertic is taking full advantage of her time at North Dakota State. She’s been mowing down hitters for three years while striking out accomplishments off the diamond. The pre-med pitcher is the Vice President of NDSU Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).
The three-time Summit League honor roll recipient joined SAAC her sophomore season, taking the place of one of the best pitchers in NDSU history, Krista Menke, as one of the softball representatives. 2016 saw a changing of the guard on the softball field, too, when Sertic replaced Menke as the Bison workhorse in the pitching circle. Sertic became the Summit League Pitcher of the Year that spring.
The roaring success of that season has transitioned to the classroom and community. Sertic is graduating this May with a degree in Zoology and is already applying to grad schools across the region.
“I really love the Midwest, honestly,” said the Sparks, Nevada native. “I love school. I don’t ever want to stop. I’m applying to medical school, but I’m going to take a year off, live life, do some cool stuff. But my plan is to do an MBPhD.”
Sertic interviewed with the University of Nevada over the semester break this December. She’s hoping that goes well so she can defer and play professional softball for a year before getting back to school. Sertic is hoping to follow the path of Menke and Logan Moreland, who both played professionally in Italy.
The senior is a people person and natural communicator. She says SAAC helped by getting her out of her comfort zone and giving her a taste of post-college life.
Sertic became the vice president of SAAC this year and is teaching her softball teammate Lauren Reimers the ropes.
Sertic is excited to share her experiences with a younger teammate because the senior has experienced firsthand the impact Bison athletes can make in the community.
“One time, I was just sick as a dog and I volunteered and I just felt amazing afterward,” Sertic explained. “Being in SAAC and giving back to a community who gives us so much is so rewarding.”
Sertic has been instrumental in SAAC gathering monetary gifts, food and toys for people less fortunate in the Fargo-Moorhead area. This December marked the second consecutive year SAAC executed a toy drive for Youthworks of North Dakota. The gifts will go to children in families that can’t afford gifts this holiday season.
This December was Sertic’s last toy drive with the Bison. With one semester and softball season left at NDSU, Sertic is excited to keep her success rolling. The Bison hit the diamond for the first time in 2018 on February 9, in Las Vegas.
REFLECTING ON LAST YEAR’S SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
“I think it says a lot about the grit we acquired throughout the year. Losing so many games and seeing how many 1-0, one-run games where we’re literally losing by one run, for so many games, and saying, ‘We could’ve won this game if we just would have done this better.’ We used that in the conference tournament, and in the conference tournament, it was do or die.” – Jax
PREPARING FOR HER SENIOR SEASON
“(I’m) not really trying to be a vocal leader. Just trying to put in my work and hopefully, that reflects onto everybody else. Darren (Mueller, head coach) said it earlier this year, this is the best team chemistry we’ve had starting out in a really long time. And, it’s so true. We all get along really well.” – Jax
