OKLAHOMA CITY — After helping lead LSU to a series win over the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators, junior infielder Bianka Bell (Tampa, Fla.) has earned the Week 6 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today. Also tabbed as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week, Bell’s strong performance at the plate helped land her team at No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history earlier today.
“I’m still kind of speechless, but so grateful and humbled to have earned this award,” said Bell. “We had such an amazing weekend and I could not have been able to put up the numbers I did without the people around me. All year, Coach Torina has stressed to us the importance of passing the bat and playing for each other, and it just so happened that I had the hot hand in our games last week. Our offense as a whole did a great job of being selfless and giving all of us the opportunities at the plate that we did, which in turn the gave me chances to make something happen for the team. Thank you again for this amazing honor and I hope I can continue to make our LSU family proud.”
In arguably one of the biggest regular-season series in program history, Bell led all LSU players with 10 hits as the Tigers earned a series win over the Gators for the first time since 2006. In their first meeting of the SEC series, Bell was lights out at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4, earning her first four-hit game of her career. In their second game of the series, Bell went 3-for-5, knocking in three RBI while scoring twice herself as the Tigers took a 14-10 win over Florida to even up the series.
In their final meeting, a game which would decide the series, Bell again went 3-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored. With the game tied at 3-3, she hit the go-ahead home run on a three-run shot to give LSU the lead and added two more on a two-RBI double later in the game.
“Bianka has been such a special player for our program since the day she stepped foot on campus, and her earning this award is a testament to all of the hours of hard work she has put into not only her game but being a leader on this team,” said LSU Head Coach Beth Torina. “Her play last weekend can be attributed to many factors, but none more so than her belief in playing for the name on the front of the jersey, and placing her teammates in the best possible position to succeed. She is a true team player that would tell you that her accomplishments would not be possible without the help of her teammates and the support they bring. She is very deserving of this honor and we are excited to see her continued growth in this program.”
For the weekend, Bell put together an astounding .716 (10-for-14) batting average, eight RBI, one home run and crossed the plate five times. She also combined for a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .714 on-base percentage while reaching base safely in each of her first six at-bats. For the season, the Florida native leads her team with a .545 batting average with 41 RBI, nine home runs and 38 runs scored.
This is the first USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week honors for Bell and the first for an LSU player since Week 9 of the 2011 season when Anissa Young earned the accolades. LSU will look to defend its No. 1 ranking this week as they host Nicholls State and the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners in Baton Rouge, La.
2015 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 5-8): Taylor Schoblocher – North Texas – Junior – Utility – Forney, Texas
Week 2 (Feb. 9-15): Lauren Haeger – Florida – Senior – Pitcher/1B – Peoria, Ariz.
Week 3 (Feb. 16-22): Jenna Lilley – Oregon – Freshman – Infield – North Canton, Ohio
Week 4 (Feb. 23 – March 1): Sierra Lawrence – Michigan – Junior – Outfield – Snellville, Ga.
Week 5 (March 2-8): Emily Carosone – Auburn – Junior – Outfield – Orlando, Fla.
Week 6 (March 9-15): Bianka Bell – LSU – Junior – Infield – Tampa, Fla.
