Summit League
South Dakota State’s Rozelyn Carrillo and Tori Kniesche swept the latest TicketSmarter Summit League Softball Peak Performer and Pitcher of the Week honors, respectively, league officials announced on Monday.
Carrillo had a stellar week at the plate as she helped the Jackrabbits to a combined four wins. The Palmdale, Calif., native went 5-for-10 with six runs scored, three RBI and four walks. In game one of a doubleheader against NDSU, Carrillo scored two runs on one single. Carrillo also had success against North Dakota where she registered four hits in two games, including a two-run triple in game one and a double in game two. In total, Carrillo posted a .600 slugging percentage and a .643 on-base percentage.
Kniesche continued her dominance in the circle with three appearances last week where she earned a pair of wins. In the series finale against North Dakota State, the Wayne, Neb., native gave up just two hits and struck out 12 batters in a complete-game effort, helping lead SDSU to a 1-0 win.
She also pitched in both of SDSU’s games in its doubleheader against UND, opening with a complete-game 8-0 six-inning run rule victory. Kniesche gave up just two hits and struck out 10 while walking three batters. The junior also came in relief in game two and pitched two innings of scoreless relief with four of her six outs coming by strikeout while not allowing a hit or walk. Kniesche combined for 15 innings and gave up four hits along with 26 strikeouts while not giving up a run last week.
PEAK PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Rozelyn Carrillo, South Dakota State
Jr. | Infield | Palmdale, Calif.
Also nominated: Carley Goetschius (North Dakota State).
PEAK PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Tori Kniesche, South Dakota State
Jr. | Pitcher | Wayne, Neb.
Northern Sun Athletic Conference
Player of the Week
#25 Kennedy Buckman (IF, 5-9, Jr., R/R, New Prague, Minn. / New Prague HS) – Augustana
- Went 10-for-15 for a .667 average with seven home runs in a 6-0 week
- Owned a 2.067 slugging and .684 on-base percentage
- Racked up 18 RBIs with eight runs scored and three walks
- Went 3-for-3 with three home runs and eight RBIs in a 11-2 win over BSU
- Ranks second in the nation in home runs this season (19)
NSIC Pitcher of the Week
#32 Lexi Lander (RHP, 5-9, Jr., R/R, Onawa, Iowa) – Augustana
- Went 3-0 over 15.0 innings of shutout ball
- Allowed just six hits and three walks while striking out eight
- Held opponents to a .120 average against her for the week
- Had two 4.0 inning appearances where she only allowed one hit
Great Plains Athletic Conference
Pitcher – Maddi Duncan, Briar Cliff University
Maddi Duncan of Briar Cliff University is this week's GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports pitcher-of-the-week. Duncan, a freshman from Lincoln, Nebraska, earned four wins in four starts last week to improve to 17-4 on the season. Duncan threw a complete game in all four starts with two shutouts. She totaled 40 strikeouts and had a week-high 12 K's against Midland.
Player – Autumn Porter, Mount Marty University (Outfield)
Autumn Porter of Mount Marty University is this week's GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports softball player-of-the-week. Porter, a sophomore from Miles City, Montana, had five home runs on the week. Porter added six RBIs and had eleven hits in twenty-one at bats hitting .524 on the week and a 1.238 slugging percentage and scored nine times.
Lone Star Conference
HITTER
Madison Johnson, West Texas A&M, JR, Sports and Exercise Science, Flower Mound, Texas, Marcus HS
Johnson went 5-for-11 with two home runs and a double to fuel a series sweep on the road for West Texas A&M against fellow nationally-ranked Lubbock Christian. Johnson also drove in four runs, scored twice, walked once and did not strike out. Her two long balls came in the same game.
PITCHER
Tatum Goff, UT Tyler, JR, Nursing, LHP, Rusk, Texas, RHS
Goff improved her record to 30-0 with a pair of road victories against St. Edward’s and helped nationally-ranked UT Tyler to improve its winning streak to 25 games. Goff struck out 13 batters over 12 innings and allowed only one earned run. She scattered six hits and held the Hilltoppers to a .146 batting average. Goff also recorded her 18th complete game of the season in a 3-0 win in the finale.
North Star Conference
North Star Athletic Association Softball Pitcher-of-the-Week
Katie Cunningham – Bellevue (Neb.) – freshman – pitcher – Bellevue, Neb. – Cunningham pitched a two-hit complete game shutout victory over Waldorf (Iowa), fueling Bellevue (Neb.) to a 5-0 record for the week. She struck out eight times and did not issue a walk in the pitching circle. Offensively, Cunningham was .571 at the plate (4-of-7) with a .714 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .571.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Player of the Week: Madelyn Huerta, CSU Pueblo – Fr. – SS – Azusa, Calif.
Huerta was near impossible to get out for CSU Pueblo (20-27, 15-23 RMAC) leading the Pack to a series sweep against Black Hills State last weekend. The freshman concluded the weekend hitting 10-for-12 (.833 avg) including three home runs and one double. Huerta closed the four-game set with nine RBI, seven runs and a massive 1.667 slugging percentage. The Azusa Calif., native collected a .857 on-base percentage while compiling 20 total bases and drawing two walks last weekend.
Huerta has been dominant at the plate for the ThunderWolves all season as she ranks second for CSU Pueblo in batting average (.363), hits (45), runs (41), home runs (5) and RBI (8).
Pitcher of the Week: Kali Crandall, Colorado Christian – Gr. – RHP – Artesia, N.M.
Crandall dominated inside the circle yet again last weekend as the Cougars (48-4, 35-2 RMAC) took the series win over Colorado Mesa last weekend. The righty tossed two complete games and allowed just one run and three hits over 12 innings of work. Crandell tossed the second perfect game in program history during her second appearance of the weekend, where she fanned eight out of the 15 batters she faced.
After improving her season record to 24-2 in the circle, Crandall continues to rank among the nation’s best in multiple categories. She leads the RMAC and ranks third nationally with 3.37 hits allowed per seven innings and stands atop the league and second in the country with 11 shutouts on the year. Crandall’s.73 WHIP stands first in the RMAC and fourth in NCAA Division II.
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
UMAC Softball Player of the Week
UMAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Minnesota Athletic Athletic Conference
Emma Tautges, right-handed pitcher for Central Lakes College, has been named the MCAC North Division Softball Pitcher of the Week. Tautges threw a shutout game in her one appearance during the week. In 5 innings, she struck out 2 and gave up no runs on 4 hits and walked none. Marissa Callahan, infielder for Central Lakes College, earned this week's MCAC North Division Softball Position Player of the Week award. Callahan was 9 for 12 from the plate with a .750 batting average. She hit 4 doubles and scored 4 runs with 6 RBI and a walk.
Molly Gross, right-handed pitcher for Anoka Ramsey Community College, has earned another MCAC South Division Softball Pitcher of the Week award. In her 2 starts, Gross picked up 2 more wins, throwing 10 innings and giving up only 1 earned run. She struck out 20, walked one, and gave up only 6 hits. Justice Boyer, CF/C for St. Cloud Technical and Community College has been named the MCAC South Division Softball Position Player of the Week honoree. Boyer was 8 for 12 from the plate with a .667 batting average, and hit 4 doubles and 3 home runs. She collected 14 RBI, scored 7 runs, and stole a base in her team's four wins.
Mid America Conference
MAC Softball Player of the Week
Payton Kelly, Sophomore, Western Michigan
Payton Kelly led the Bronco offense last week versus Kent State in batting average (.667) and hits (8). Kelly tied the team-best in runs (4), home runs (1), and RBI (3). She registered at least two hits in each of the three games started against KSU while scoring at least once in each contest for a 1.000 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage. With her four runs scored and three RBI, Kelly accounted for seven of WMU’s 18 runs in the series. In Saturday’s opener, Kelly went 3-for-4 and dinged a double to center field to claim her one run and push the Broncos to an early 1-0 lead in the third. In the evening cap, she batted 2-for-4 and scored one run. On Sunday, the sophomore went 3-for-4, claiming her third home run of the season with a leadoff bomb over the left field wall. She scored two for the Broncos and batted in three to finish the series.
MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Brianna Pratt, Graduate Student, Miami
Pratt had another phenomenal week in the circle for the RedHawks. She allowed 0 runs in her two appearances, including a shutout win in Miami's opening game against Akron and a combined shutout win with Laurelai DePew in Miami's five-inning 11-0 win on Sunday. Batters were only able to muster 10 hits off of her the entire weekend, and zero for extra bases. She struck out nine, seven of which coming in her 3-0 shutout win on Saturday. She walked only three in those two appearances and held opposing batters to a .250 average.
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
MIAC Softball Player of the Week
Kayla Herda
Gustavus Adolphus College
So. | Outfield
Farmington, Minn.
Kayla Herda had a 13-hit week for the Gusties, leading the team through a seven-game win streak and five MIAC victories. Herda averaged .591 (13-for-22) with an on-base percentage of .625 in six games, scoring six runs with nine RBI while belting four extra-base hits including her first home run of the season against Concordia on 4/19.
MIAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Ellie Peterson
College of Saint Benedict
Fy. | Right-handed Pitcher
St. Anthony Village, Minn.
Ellie Peterson went 3-0 in the circle with a 0.44 earned run average, including a five-inning no-hitter against Macalester on 4/19. Peterson had three starts last week, posting two complete games and a shutout. She threw 16.0 innings in total and allowed one run on 10 hits with 13 strikeouts. Peterson held opponents to a .179 batting average for the week and has not allowed a run in 12 straight innings of work.
Big Ten Conference
Player of the Week
Lexie Black, Penn State
Sr. – 1B – Omaha, Neb. – Millard West – Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
• Registered a .500 batting average, 1.400 slugging percentage and .583 on-base percentage last week in helping Penn State win three of four games
• Finished the week with three home runs, seven RBI and three runs scored
• Had three RBI in wins over Bucknell (April 18) and Maryland (April 21), hitting a three-run home run against Bucknell and a pair of home runs (accounting for all three PSU runs) against Maryland
• 2022 Academic All-Big Ten honoree
• Earns her first Big Ten Player of the Week award
• Last Penn State Player of the Week: Ally Kurland (April 4, 2022)
Pitcher of the Week
Autumn Pease, Minnesota
5th-Yr. – RHP – Murrieta, Calif. – Murrieta Mesa – Major: Kinesiology
• Went 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, two complete-game shutouts, 24 strikeouts and only three walks in 16.0 innings last week, pacing the Golden Gophers to a sweep of Big Ten foe Iowa
• Tossed a four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in the series opener on April 21
• Came back the next day to scatter seven hits and fan 12 batters in another complete-game win
• Closed the weekend series with a victory in relief on Sunday, allowing just one hit over the final two frames in a 2-1 nine-inning triumph
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection (2021, 2022)
• Collects her third career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award and second this season
• Last Minnesota Pitcher of the Week: Autumn Pease (March 13, 2023)
Freshman of the Week
Taryn Kern, Indiana
Fr. – 2B – San Jose, Calif. – Archbishop Mitty – Major: Undeclared
• Batted .500 with a 1.250 slugging percentage and .833 on-base percentage in last weekend’s series sweep at Rutgers
• Tallied one home run, four RBI and five runs scored, while also drawing five walks
• Drilled her NCAA-leading 19th home run of the season, a two-run blast, in Sunday’s series finale — her 19 home runs are only five shy of the Big Ten single-season record (24 by Illinois’ Angelena Mexicano in 2008)
• Captures her fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, tying for fourth-most in conference history (she is also a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week selection this season)
• Last Indiana Freshman of the Week: Avery Parker (April 3, 2023)
South East Conference
Player of the Week Taylor Pleasants, LSU
Taylor Pleasants, a junior shortstop from Houston, Texas, led the Tigers this past week with her .615 batting average and also tallied eight hits, four runs scored and four RBI. In the series sweep over Mississippi State, Pleasants went 7-for-11 with seven hits (including a pair of doubles), four runs scored and three RBI. On the week, she recorded a .769 slugging percentage and a .643 on-base percentage.
Co-Pitchers of the Week Shelby Walters, Georgia
Shelby Walters, a graduate student right-hander from Cohutta, Ga., earned two wins and two saves after appearing in all four of the Bulldogs' games this past week. In 12 total innings, Walters allowed no earned runs and just four hits. In the series sweep over South Carolina, Walters garnered a save in game one Friday, pitched a five-inning one-hitter on Saturday and then combined with Madison Kerpics for another one-hitter on Sunday.
Laurin Krings, Missouri
Laurin Krings, a junior right-hander from Loveland, Colo., went 3-0 in the circle and pitched 15 scoreless innings with 28 strikeouts. Krings registered two complete-game shutout wins, and allowed just four hits and a walk over the week. In the series opener against North Texas, she registered her third career no-hitter with a career-high 17 strikeouts.
Freshman of the Week Reagan Johnson, Arkansas
Reagan Johnson, a centerfielder from Karnes City, Texas, batted .550 with 11 hits, five runs scored and five RBI over a pair of non-conference games and the series win over No. 20/20 Kentucky. Against the Wildcats, Johnson went 7-for-12 with a double and three stolen bases. Over the five games this past week, she recorded seven putouts as well as a .600 slugging percentage and a .550 on-base percentage.
Big 12 Conference
Texas’ Reese Atwood (Player) and Mac Morgan (Pitcher) took home Big 12 softball weekly awards for the 11th week of the season as they led the Longhorns to a sweep of then-No. 3 Oklahoma State, their first sweep over OSU since 2016.
Atwood provided walk-off hits in two of UT’s three wins over the Cowgirls. After breaking up a no-hit bid by OSU’s Lexi Kilfoyl in the bottom of the seventh, the freshman followed it up with an eighth-inning single up the middle to clinch a 1-0 victory for the Longhorns in game one. In the second game of the series, Atwood became the first student-athlete in program history with walk-offs in three consecutive games, as she launched a 263-foot game-ending three-run home run off 2022 Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Kelly Maxwell with Texas trailing by two. This is the first career Big 12 accolade for Atwood and marks the first true freshman to win Player of the Week this season.
Morgan tossed 9.2 innings of scoreless softball against OSU to extend her consecutive scoreless innings pitched streak to 29.2. In her first game of the weekend, the right-hander threw a career-long eight shutout innings in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel. The sophomore returned to the circle in the bottom of the sixth in game three to close out the weekend sweep while allowing just one baserunner in 1.2 innings of work. Morgan is the first player this season to win Pitcher of the Week two times in a row.
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----- USA Softball of South Dakota State Commissioner |
