Courtesy of the MVC
NCAA-Leading Marks
In the NCAA Division I softball rankings, four teams and seven MVC student-athletes have top-50 rankings:
Drake (46th) – Earned Run Average
Illinois State (31st) – Home Runs per game
Wichita State (37th) – Doubles per game
Missouri State (8th) – Double Plays per game
Jordan de los Reyes, Illinois State (49th) – Home Runs per game
Erika Hansen, Bradley (15th) – Double Plays per game
Brittany Fortner, Wichita State (46th) – Double Plays per game
Erin Struemph, Missouri State (4th) – Saves
Yvette Alvarez, Indiana State (20th) – Saves
Taylor Lockwood, Indiana State (48th) – Walks Allowed per Seven Innings
Rebekah Schmidt, Drake (8th) – Shutouts
MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week
Erika Hansen, Freshman, OF, Fillmore, Calif. – Bradley
Hansen had three multi-hit games, boasting a .727 batting average, 1.455 slugging percentage and .733 on base percentage while helping Bradley to a 3-1 record last week. In Tuesday’s come-from-behind home win against Western Illinois, she was 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs and three RBI as she helped the Braves rally from an 8-3 deficit for a 10-8 victory. In the series opener against Indiana State, Hansen was 2-for-2 with one run, one double and four RBI to help highlight an 11-2, five inning victory. She broke the Bradley freshman record for doubles in a season with a three-run double in the second inning of Saturday’s first game and also became just the second freshman in school history with more than 30 RBI. Hansen was 1-for-2 with a run and two walks in the nightcap as she tied the Bradley freshman walks record at 27. Sunday, she was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two runs scored and one RBI. This year, Hansen’s doubles (15 – tied for 4th), RBI (33 – 10th) and walks (27 – tied for 2nd) all rank among Bradley’s top 10 season totals.
MVC Pitcher of the Week
Rebekah Schmidt, Cottage Grove, Minn., Senior – Drake
Rebekah Schmidt was instrumental in helping Drake go 4-0 last week. Schmidt, who went 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA on the week, started the week with a complete game shutout against the Iowa Hawkeyes, scattering six hits, one walk and one hit batter while striking out seven. Schmidt followed that with another complete game against Loyola as the Bulldogs run-ruled the Ramblers in six. Schmidt allowed one earned run while striking out seven to earn the win. She closed the weekend with five innings against Loyola allowing just one earned run while striking out three. Schmidt is 11-8 with a 2.82 ERA on the season. Schmidt also helped at the plate as she went 3-for-9 (.333) with one double and four RBI.
Other notable performances:
PLAYERS
Rebekah Schmidt, Drake
Rebekah Schmidt was instrumental in helping Drake go 4-0 last week. Schmidt, who went 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA on the week, started the week with a complete game shutout against the Iowa Hawkeyes, scattering six hits, one walk and one hit batter while striking out seven. Schmidt followed that with another complete game against Loyola as the Bulldogs run-ruled the Ramblers in six. Schmidt allowed one earned run while striking out seven to earn the win. She closed the weekend with five innings against Loyola allowing just one earned run while striking out three. Schmidt is 11-8 with a 2.82 ERA on the season. Schmidt also helped at the plate as she went 3-for-9 (.333) with one double and four RBI.
Danielle Freeman, Evansville
Danielle Freeman continued her strong performance this past weekend against the Missouri State Bears. Freeman went 4-9 at the plate for an average of .444. That put her season average at a team leading .377. Freeman hit two home runs on the weekend bringing her season total to a team leading eight. Freeman also managed to add two RBIs bring her season total to 17. Freeman has accomplished all these feats in only 17 games this season.
Annie Heineman, Illinois State
Annie Heineman was productive throughout the four-game week for Illinois State. The sophomore leadoff hitter batted .500, going 5-10 with five runs scored. Her batting average and runs led the team. Two of Heineman’s hits went for extra bases as she hit a double and a home run while driving in a team-high five runs. Heineman’s .900 slugging percentage and .643 on-base percentage led the team and she was also 1-1 on stolen base attempts.
Kassie Brown, Indiana State
Sophomore Kassie Brown led the Sycamores over the five games they played this week with a .538 batting average going 7-13 at the plate. The slapper from Mt. Zion, Ill., also had two RBI’s and three runs scored while drawing a walk and was hit by a pitch for a .600 on base percentage with one sacrifice. The sophomore also held a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage while playing every out at short stop.
Elena Gambill, Missouri State
Gambill put up one her best weeks as a Bears. She led MSU with six runs batted in and set a career-high with four in game two on Saturday against Evansville. In game one on Tuesday, she tied a career-high with three hits versus SEMO. In game two of the doubleheader against the Redhawks, she drew a walk and successfully converted a sacrifice bunt. Then on Saturday, her pinch-hit sac fly in the ninth drove in the walk-off run in the ninth inning of game one. In game two, she drove in four runs and hit her second home run of the season. On the week, she hit .545 with six RBI, two runs scored, a stolen base and perfect defense at shortstop.
Caitlin Wnek, Northern Iowa
Caitlin Wnek batted .556 over the weekend in the Panthers’ three-game series against Wichita State. Wnek homered in UNI’s game one win, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Her second RBI of the contest came at an opportune time, putting UNI up 4-2 before going onto win the contest 4-3.
Kalyn Harker, Southern Illinois
Kalyn Harker stayed hot with a .500 batting average last week, including a .750 slugging percentage and .636 on-base percentage for the week. Harker hit two doubles, scored two runs, stole a base and laid down a sacrifice, as well. She reached in all four games and had a hit in three of them. She went 1-for-2 with a double and run scored in a 5-1 win over SIUE that snapped the Cougars’ 10-game winning streak. With two outs in the seventh, Harker singled (she was 2-for-2 in the game) to extend the inning and scored the game-winning run from first base on Merri Anne Patterson’s double. Harker is hitting .484 in MVC games, fourth in the conference.
Brittany Fortner, Wichita State
Brittany Fortner had a strong week in the batter’s box, as she posted a .444 (8-18) batting average with two runs scored, two doubles, six RBI (led the team) and 10 total bases (led the team). The Cedar Hill, Mo. native also a .556 slugging percentage, a .421 on-base percentage, a stolen base, and a 1.000 fielding percentage during last week’s action. During the Omaha and the UNI doubleheaders last week, Fortner hit .500 as she was 3-6 with a double, three RBI, a stolen base and four total bases in the Omaha doubleheader, and 4-8 with two RBI and a run scored in the UNI doubleheader. Overall, Fortner still has the Valley lead in three categories: batting average (.414), hits (53), and total bases (86). In 2015, Fortner has also scored 32 runs (tied for the team lead), hit 13 doubles, six homers, recorded 32 RBI (leads the team), a .672 slugging percentage (leads the team), 20 walks (leads the team), a .490 on-base percentage (leads the team), five stolen bases, and a 1.000 fielding percentage.
PITCHERS
Alyson Spinas-Valainis, Bradley
Spinas-Valainis appeared in three of four games last week, posting a 1-1 record with a save and 1.91 ERA while limiting foes to a .205 batting average. She had all three of her outings in the weekend series against Indiana State, opening the weekend with a complete game win against the Sycamores. Spinas-Valainis struck out three and gave up four hits and two unearned runs in the victory. Later that day she came out of the bullpen to earn the save, after entering the game with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate. Sunday, Spinas-Valainis scattered five hits over 5.2 innings of work in a tough loss as she allowed four unearned runs (seven total) in the setback.
Cecilia Dopart, Evansville
Cecilia Dopart is coming off a series against Missouri State where she saw two games of action. Dopart finished the weekend with a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 3.00. Dopart pitched a total of 9.1 innings giving up 10 hits and four runs.
Sarah Finck, Illinois State
Sarah Finck went 1-0 this weekend, defeating Southern Illinois in game two of the series. Finck threw 9 2/3 innings, making two starts and one relief appearance. The freshman finished the week with a 1.45 earned run average while allowing just six hits and two earned runs. Finck struck out five on the week to bring her season total to 40.
Chelsea Jones, Missouri State
Senior pitcher Chelsea Jones turned in the longest scoreless stretch of her career over the past week. She dominated SEMO and Evansville to extend her scoreless innings streak to a career-best 18.0 straight before a rain-logged final inning on Sunday snapped the streak. On Tuesday, she fired a four-hit shutout of SEMO, striking out four and yielding just a single walk. She returned to the circle on Saturday and went the distance in a nine inning, 1-0 win over Evansville. Again, she struck out four hitters and scattered five hits against the Aces. In her final appearance, she had to endure a 43-minute rain delay in the seventh inning on Sunday and was tagged with a run on two rain-soaked doubles in adverse conditions. On the week, she went 2-0 with a miniscule 0.41 ERA and lowered her season ERA to 2.65, second-best in the MVC.
Katie Bertelsen, Southern Illinois
Katie Bertelsen pitched two complete-game wins against top-60 RPI teams last week. She allowed just three hits and one run against SIUE, snapping the Cougars’ 10-game winning streak. SIUE entered the game with a 10-game winning streak, a national RPI at No. 36 and a record of 27-6. It was undefeated against MVC teams this year before Bertelsen’s gem. Facing then-league-leading Illinois State in game three, Bertelsen allowed just four hits and two runs in Southern’s 4-2 win, giving her an MVC-leading seven wins in Valley games. Bertelsen’s 11 wins overall also lead the league.
Katie Malone, Wichita State
Katie Malone had a spectacular week in the circle, going an unblemished 3-0 over the past week with a 1.33 ERA in 21 innings (three starts) that saw her pitch seven-inning complete games in all three of her starts. By winning all three of her starts this past week, Malone picked up her 10th, 11th and a Valley-leading 12th win of the season while on a three-start winning streak. During her 21 innings of work last week, Malone only allowed four earned runs as she struck out 17 and had a batting average against of just .228. With the complete game outing on Friday against UNI, that marked Malone’s sixth outing of the year where she pitched a complete game while allowing just one earned run or less. During all six of those outings, Malone and the Shockers each picked up the win. Overall, Malone is 12-8 with a 3.71 ERA in 30 appearances (23 starts). In 143.1 innings of work (second in the Valley), the Crete, Neb. native has struck out 101 (third in the valley) while having a .298 batting average against.
NEWCOMERS
Nicole Newman, Drake
Nicole Newman continues to pitch well in her first season for Drake. Newman went 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA and one save in two appearances last week for the Bulldogs. Newman tossed a complete game in Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win over Loyola allowing just one run while striking out. In the series finale the following day she came in in relief of Bekah Schmidt and pitched two innings to earn her first career save. Newman is 9-3 with a league-low 2.10 ERA in her first season.
Ashlee Kawall, Evansville
Ashlee Kawall is coming off an impressive weekend for the Aces when they took on the Missouri State Bears. Kawall went 3-7 at the plate which gave her an average of .429. Kawall had a double, accumulated four total bases, and scored a run for the Aces. Kawall also added another stolen base to her team leading total of seven.
Sarah Finck, Illinois State
Sarah Finck went 1-0 this weekend, defeating Southern Illinois in game two of the series. Finck threw 9 2/3 innings, making two starts and one relief appearance. The freshman finished the week with a 1.45 earned run average while allowing just six hits and two earned runs. Finck struck out five on the week to bring her season total to 40.
Mary Turitto, Indiana State
Sophomore Mary Turitto finished the five games the Sycamores played this week with a .429 batting average, going 6-14 at the plate with a double and home run. The sophomore recorded four RBI’s and two runs scored and drew a walk for a .467 on base percentage and team leading .714 slugging percentage. Turitto also had one sacrifice and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage at third base.
Jamie O’Brien, Loyola
Jamie O’Brien compiled a .364 average after hitting four-for-11 over four games last week. She also added three runs while knocking in two RBI. O’Brien hit one-for-three with an RBI and two runs in Loyola’s 12-2 run-rule victory over UIC on Wednesday. She also scored the team’s only run in the Ramblers’ 2-1 loss to Drake in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Erika Velasquez Zimmer, Missouri State
Velasquez Zimmer has put together a stellar freshman campaign for the Bears. Last week, she led Missouri State with a .563 batting average and nine hits, hitting safely in all five games. She began her week with a three-hit outing in game one against SEMO. She had a single, a double and a triple in four at-bats, driving in two and scoring a run. She drew a walk and had another hit in the nightcap versus the Redhawks. In the opener against Evansville, she drew a walk and had a base hit. Then in game two, she scored a pair of runs after each of her two singles. On Sunday, she racked up her team-best 11th multi-hit game with two more hits while scoring a run. Velasquez Zimmer was also a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts and is currently second in the Valley with 13 stolen bases on the year.
Sydney Jones, Southern Illinois
Sydney Jones posted another huge week for SIU, collecting a double and home run in her three hits to slug .875 for the week. She also walked three times to post a .545 on-base percentage and played error-free ball behind the plate. Jones hit the game-tying home run in the sixth inning against Illinois State in game three, SIU’s 4-2 win over the Redbirds, and her three RBIs improved her team-best total to 24.
Mackenzie Wright, Wichita State
Mackenzie Wright hit .412 (7-17) this past week for the Shockers, including four runs scored (tied for the team lead), two doubles (tied the team lead), five RBI, nine total bases, a .529 slugging percentage, a .474 on-base percentage, and two stolen bases. During Saturday’s game against UNI, Wright went 3-4 with a double, a RBI and two runs scored in route to the Shockers’ series victory against the Panthers. Overall, Wright is hitting .357 (41-115) (second on the team) with 20 runs scored, five doubles, three homers, 21 RBI, 55 total bases, a .478 slugging percentage, 13 walks, a team-leading nine stolen bases, and a .460 on-base percentage.
