Courtesy of the Missouri Valley Conference
The opening weekend of the 2015 softball season saw each Missouri Valley Conference team earning a win. Brittany Fortner of Wichita State was named MVC Player of the Week, Rebekah Schmidt of Drake took Pitcher of the Week with Missouri State’s Chelsea Thomas taking MVC Newcomer of the Week.
MVC Player of the Week
Brittany Fortner, OF, Junior, Cedar Hill, Mo. – Wichita State
Brittany Fortner hit .471 with three runs, eight hits, four doubles, six RBI, 14 total bases, a .824 slugging percentage and a triple during the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas that helped lead the Shockers to a 3-2 start to the 2015 season. Fortner, who was named to the 2015 preseason All-MVC First Team, earned 2015 Getterman Classic All-Tournament Team honors. She has recorded a hit in every Wichita State game so far, including three multi-hit games.
MVC Pitcher of the Week
Rebekah Schmidt, Senior, Cottage Grove, Minn. – Drake
Rebekah Schmidt went 2-1 with a 0.45 earned run average along with 19 strikeouts and just five walks this past weekend. She started the season with a complete game shutout in the win over Iowa allowing just one hit while striking out six. She took a tough loss in the 2-1 North Dakota State defeat, but tossed seven innings and allowed just one earned run while punching out eight Bison. She followed that strong performance with a big game at the plate and in the circle in the win over UNI. She allowed just one unearned run in seven innings while striking out five. At the plate, she connected for a three-run home run and later added a RBI single to finish 2-for-3 with four runs batted in.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Chelsea Thomas, 3B, Freshman, McKinney, Texas – Missouri State
Chelsea Thomas was one of several Bears freshmen to step up huge on the opening weekend of their careers. Her five runs batted in not only led the team, they were the most RBI by any MVC freshman on the opening weekend. She began her career with a two-run home run against UAPB on Saturday, her first career hit. On Sunday, Thomas produced her first career multi-hit game and blasted her second home run of the season, a three-run shot against the Bulldogs. She also singled and scored in the Bears’ win over Louisiana Tech. Thomas had a 1.000 fielding percentage while stepping into a starting role at third base.
Other notable performances:
PLAYERS
Kendall Duffy, Bradley
Duffy hit .500 with a run and three RBI in five games at the season-opening Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. She opened the season going 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI in Bradley’s 7-1 victory against Utah Valley. Duffy was 1-for-3 against Pacific and turned in her second multi-hit effort with a 2-for-2 performance against Seattle, which included a triple and one RBI. She capped the week with a 1-for-3 outing against North Carolina.
Megan Sowa, Drake
Megan Sowa batted .389 (7-for-18) with a double, two home runs, six runs scored and seven runs batted in this past weekend as the Bulldogs went 3-2 at the UNI Dome Tournament. Sowa had a big day at the plate in Drake’s win over Southern Utah going 3-fof-4 with two home runs, including her first career grand slam along with three runs scored and a career-high six runs batted in.
Chandra Parr, Evansville
Chandra Parr opened her season with the University of Evansville with two homeruns at the Plainsman Invite. Parr went 4-15 at the plate with 2 homerun, 2 RBIs, and 11 total bases. Parr also connected for a double. Parr’s second home run was a huge factor in earning UE their first win of the season against UAB on Sunday.
Jordan de los Reyes, Illinois State
De los Reyes was ISU’s hottest bat to start the season in Tampa. In five games she hit. 429 with two home runs and five runs batted in. In the season opener against Jacksonville, de los Reyes belted a game-tying home run and then later won the game with a walk off single. Her six hits are a team-high, as are her four runs. She also hit two doubles over the weekend and is currently slugging 1.000 percent. De los Reyes compiled a .529 on-base percentage and played a flawless third base, making no errors in 11 chances.
Erika Crissman, Indiana State
Sophomore Erika Crissman got off to a hot start to her sophomore campaign hitting .385 in the first four games of the 2015 season. The sophomore recorded five hits and a double with four RBI’s to lead the Sycamores. She also drew two walks and had a run scored while having a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in center field.
Hannah Jenkins, Loyola
Jenkins went 3-3 with 1 run and 1 RBI in Loyola’s 8-3 victory over North Dakota. She hit 2-3, including a 2 RBI double and a solo home run in Loyola’s 5-4 loss to Samford on Feb. 7. On Feb. 8, Jenkins went 3-4 with 1 run in Loyola’s 4-3 loss to Miami Ohio. She leads the team in doubles (2), hits (8), batting average (.667), on-base percentage (.667) and slugging percentage (1.083) through four games.
Rebecca McPherson, Missouri State
Senior outfielder Rebecca McPherson began the season by hitting safely in each of the five games over the weekend. She extends her overall hitting streak to eight games, the longest current active streak on the team. McPherson began the season with a two-hit performance against Abilene Christian that included an RBI double. In the night cap, she hit the Bears’ first home run of the season, part of a school-record tying four home run game for MSU. Then on Saturday, she began the day with an RBI single against UAPB and hit her second home run of the season versus SIUE later in the day. She concluded her weekend with another hit against LA Tech, drew a walk, was hit by a pitch and scored a run. Her two home runs on the weekend tied her career high for a season, set in her sophomore year of 2013. McPherson had a perfect fielding percentage including a nice sliding catch in foul territory.
Rikki Alcaraz, Northern Iowa
Alcaraz batted a team-high .462 while knotting a .611 on base percentage over the weekend at the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic. The senior also drove in four runs and hit a two-run home run to take a 2-1 lead against North Dakota State on Sunday. Alcaraz recorded 15 assists from third base as well. UNI went 3-3 at the UNI-Dome Classic this weekend, defeating Southern Utah 7-6, Green Bay 15-11, and North Dakota State 4-2.
Savannah Fisher, Southern Illinois
Savannah Fisher hit .600 in her first weekend in a Saluki uniform. The freshman from Orlando went 3-for-5 and hit the first home run of her career at the Charleston Southern Tournament over the weekend, slugging 1,200 for the weekend. In her first weekend, Fisher had one of the best weekends in the MVC, leading the league in slugging percentage and rankings second in batting average and fourth in on-base percentage.
PITCHERS
Samantha Fleming, Evansville
Earned Evansville’s first victory of the season. Fleming gave up nine runs on 11 hits while pitching a total of nine innings. Her current ERA is 3.89.
Regan Romshek, Illinois State
Romshek was a huge part of ISU’s success, going 2-2 in the circle in four starts. The junior threw 27 innings, giving up 26 hits and 10 earned runs. She took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning against Hampton and then no-hit eighth-ranked Michigan through three innings. Romshek struck out 16 batters and has an ERA of 3.33 after facing some of the nation’s top competition in No. 8 Michigan and a South Florida team that is receiving votes for the Top 25.
Madison Hope, Loyola
Madison Hope got the win in Loyola’s 6-5 victory over Butler (Feb. 6) after giving up one run on four hits in just over four innings pitched. She pitched a complete game en route to Loyola’s 8-3 win over North Dakota (Feb. 7). She recorded five strikeouts while giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. Hope gave up one run in just over four innings pitched in Loyola’s 4-3 loss to Miami Ohio on Feb. 8. She recorded a 2-1 record and 2.87 ERA over three games.
Chelsea Jones, Missouri State
Senior Chelsea Jones had a fantastic weekend in the circle. She went 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA in three outings for the Bears. In the season opener against Abilene Christian, Jones tied her career high by racking up six strikeouts. She shut down ACU on just six hits and allowed just a single walk over 5.2 innings pitched. On Saturday, she pitched a scoreless inning of relief against SIU Edwardsville. In Sunday’s tournament finale, she dominated host Louisiana Tech striking out five with just one walk allowed and seven hits against in 5.1 innings. She also fielded her position flawlessly including starting one the Bears’ four double plays on the weekend.
Chelsea Ross, Northern Iowa
Ross struck out 22 total batters in three games at the UNI-Dome Classic. On Sunday, Ross struck out eight batters while allowing two hits, one earned run, and one walk in UNI’s win over then 3-0 North Dakota State. UNI went 3-3 at the UNI-Dome Classic this weekend, defeating Southern Utah 7-6, Green Bay 15-11, and North Dakota State 4-2.
Katie Malone, Wichita State
Katie Malone went 1-0 in three starts for the Shockers at the Getterman Classic in Waco. With 13.2 innings pitched, she allowed six earned runs, 14 hits, had a complete game, 11 strikeouts, a .250 batting average against, and a 3.95 ERA. Seven of her 11 strikeouts so far in 2015 came in the season opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
NEWCOMERS
Payton Billups, Illinois State
Billups made quite the debut for the Redbirds after transferring in from Lincoln Land CC. In the season opener against Jacksonville she went 3-4 and finished the weekend 4-15. Her four hits are tied for second-most on the team her .267 batting average is second on the team among players with more than 10 at-bats. Billups totaled three RBIs and scored a run while adding a stolen base in Tampa.
Madison Hope, Loyola
Madison Hope got the win in Loyola’s 6-5 victory over Butler (Feb. 6) after giving up one run on four hits in just over four innings pitched. She pitched a complete game en route to Loyola’s 8-3 win over North Dakota (Feb. 7). She recorded five strikeouts while giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. Hope gave up one run in just over four innings pitched in Loyola’s 4-3 loss to Miami Ohio on Feb. 8. She recorded a 2-1 record and 2.87 ERA over three games.
Savannah Fisher, Southern Illinois
Savannah Fisher hit .600 in her first weekend in a Saluki uniform. The freshman from Orlando went 3-for-5 and hit the first home run of her career at the Charleston Southern Tournament over the weekend, slugging 1,200 for the weekend. In her first weekend, Fisher had one of the best weekends in the MVC, leading the league in slugging percentage and rankings second in batting average and fourth in on-base percentage.
Mackenzie Wright, Wichita State
Mackenzie Wright hit .250 with three hits, two runs scored, two RBI and three total bases. Through Wichita State’s first five games, Wright as a freshman leads the team in stolen bases (two), hit-by-pitch (three), is second on the team in assists (nine), and is third on the team with a .438 on-base percentage (minimum five at-bats).
