Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES SOFTBALL
EAST AND WEST DIVISION PITCHERS AND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
 
MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week:
Madi Huck, Kent State        
Sophomore, Delaware, Ohio / Delaware Hayes High School
 
Kent State sophomore pitcher Madi Huck had a sensational weekend inside the circle racking up three victories and throwing two complete game shutouts. She finished the weekend with an ERA of 0.00 in 16 innings of work with opponents only hitting .182 against her. Dating back to last season, Huck tossed 25.2 consecutive scoreless innings. The streak was snapped when she was in relief duty in extra innings against Rider, with the international tiebreaker rule in effect.
 
In her first start of the campaign against Coastal Carolina, she thwarted the Chanticleers bats and hurled a complete game shutout, the first of her career. Huck was dominant and allowed only four hits in the 1-0 pitcher’s duel victory. It was first-time Coastal Carolina had been shutout all season. The next day she picked right back up from where she left off and fired a complete-game shutout against UConn in Kent State's 10-0 victory. She scattered five Huskie hits and allowed one walk with two strikeouts. It was the first time Kent State shutout a school from the American Athletic Conference in program history. Huck was called out of the bullpen against Rider and threw two frames of extra innings in Kent State's 10-9 nine-inning win over the Broncs. She allowed two runs, both unearned, and was the pitcher of record and registered her third victory of the weekend.
 
MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week:
Aeshia Miles, Ball State        
Junior, Lawrenceville, Ga. / Collins Hill High School
 
Ball State junior Aeshia Miles earned her first complete game win of the season by limiting New Mexico State, who receive votes in both the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, to two runs and seven hits while striking out five. She also issued just one walk in the game as the Aggies entered the game batting .375 as a team, as well as averaging 11 hits, eight runs and three walks per game, having played three games previously against then-No. 13 Kentucky.  Miles improved to 2-1 on the year with the victory.

 
MAC East Division Player of the Week:
Holly Speers, Kent State        
Infielder, Senior, Surrey, British Columbia / Lord Tweedsmuir
 
Kent State senior infielder Holly Speers belted a home run and drove in seven RBIs while hitting .643 and led the Flashes to win four of their five games on the weekend. She recorded three multi-hit games on the weekend and had an on-base percentage of .688. Speers tallied three extra-base hits with a home run and two doubles with a slugging percentage of 1.000 and had nine hits with two walks in 14 at-bats. To open the weekend she was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI versus Robert Morris. Against UConn, she was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and a two-RBI double in Kent State's 10-1 win. She had her best game of the weekend against Rider hitting 4-of-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored in the Flashes wild extra inning 10-9 win over the Broncs. Closing out the weekend against Lafayette, she was 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk in Kent State's monster 11-3 five-inning win against the Leopards.
 
MAC West Division Player of the Week:
Erika Underwood, Central Michigan        
First Base, Junior, Pittsford, Mich. / Addison High School
 
Central Michigan junior first baseman Erika Underwood and the Chippewas posted a 3-1 mark at the Liberty Softball Challenge last weekend. The Chippewas defeated Delaware State twice (9-0; 3-2) and Liberty once (8-5). Junior Erika Underwood led the Chippewas with a .571 batting average (8-of-14), including two doubles and one home run. She posted a 92.9 slugging percentage and 57.1 on-base percentage. Underwood hit her fourth home run of the season in an 8-5 victory over Liberty on Thursday. The junior went 3-of-3 in a close 3-2 win over Delaware State on Friday and then posted three hits on four plate appearances. The Pittsford, Mich. native also recorded 30 putouts and three assists. Underwood ranks second on the team with a .440 batting averaging (11-of-25) and leads the team in home runs (4), RBI (11) and total bases (25).
 

Other Pitcher Nominees:
Meredith Miller, Bowling Green        
Junior, Sugar Land, Texas / Clements High School
 
Bowling Green junior pitcher Meredith Miller was 2-0 last weekend, as the Falcons went 4-1 at the Elon Classic. Miller had 19 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings and allowed opponents to hit just .206 against her. She pitched 8 1/3 innings against North Texas, allowing just one earned run and five hits in the Falcons' 3-2 extra-inning win. Miller struck out six batters in that win. Then, she threw 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven, as the Falcons topped host Elon, 6-3. She capped her weekend by throwing 3 2/3 innings of BGSU's 12-3 blowout win vs. Mount St. Mary's, striking out six hitters. On the season, Miller is 5-0 with an ERA of just 1.10, 51 strikeouts (and just 12 walks) in 38 1/3 innings and an opponent batting avg. of .153. BGSU is 6-0 in games in which she has pitched, and the Falcons are off to a school record 9-1 start.
 
Alex Frenz, Northern Illinois        
Junior, Oakville, Mo. / Oakville High School
 
Northern Illinois junior pitcher Alex Frenz grabbed her first win of the season in relief when the Huskies defeated tournament host College of Charleston on Friday. The Huskie junior came in to relieve Tara Thacker and lasted four innings giving up one-hit and striking out one. She pitched to 15 batters in that game and only gave up one baserunner. Frenz appeared in four out of the five game this past weekend and was 1-0 with a 3.20 ERA in 15.1 innings of work.
 
Danielle Stiene, Ohio       
Senior, Loveland, Ohio / Ursuline Academy
 
Ohio senior pitcher Danielle Stiene led the Bobcats in the circle during Ohio's opening weekend at the EMU Medeira Beach Invitational. Stiene started three games, going 2-0 while registering a 0.95 ERA with two shutouts. She registered two complete games while pitching 22.0 innings, allowing 13 hits and allowing three earned runs and walking five while registering 29 strikeouts, including a career-high 14 against Jacksonville State on Feb. 18. Batters also only hit .167 off of Stiene.
 
On Feb. 17 against Virginia in the Bobcats' opening game, Stiene pitched her first shut out of the weekend, blanking the Cavaliers, 4-0. In the game, Stiene pitched seven innings and did not allow a run on four hits, while walking three and striking out nine of the 28 batters faced. In her next game on Feb. 18 against Lipscomb, Stiene pitched eight innings of the nine, where she allowed four runs on seven hits, while walking one and striking out six. Stiene game back the next day and dominated in the circle once again against Jacksonville State where she pitched seven innings in the 3-0 shutout victory. She allowed no runs on two hits, walked one and struck out a career-high 14 of the 23 batters that she faced.
 
 
Other Player Nominees:
Janae Hogg, Ball State    
First Base, Sophomore, Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral High School
 
Ball State sophomore Janae Hogg played a large role in guiding the Cardinals to a 2-0 record as last weekend's Troy Cox Classic hosted by New Mexico State, blasting game-winning home runs in each contest. Hogg's first blast came in the bottom of fifth inning of the Cardinals 6-5 win over Boston University. After the Terriers rallied for three runs in the top of the frame to pull ahead 5-4, a leadoff single from freshman shortstop Hailey Demnianiuk set up Hogg's two-run blast to right field. In the nightcap, tournament host New Mexico State, who receive votes in both the both the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, scored two runs in the top of the third only to see the Cardinals bats answer with a two-out rally in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique started the rally by legging out an infield single to the second base bag. Senior second baseman Maddy Labrador followed with a two-run blast to right-center field, her second home run of the day, to even the score at 2-2. Hogg then tallied her second game-winning blast, a no doubter to center field. Hogg finished the day with a team-high four hits, with three in the opener and her home run in the nightcap. She also tallied four RBIs, scored three runs and was hit by a pitch.
 
Sammy Dees, Bowling Green        
Second Base, Freshman, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Mission High School
 
Bowling Green freshman Sammy Dees led the Falcons in hitting, with a .471 batting average as BGSU went 4-1 at the Elon Classic over the weekend. Dees also paced the Falcons with 8 hits, and she tied for the team lead in doubles (2) and total bases (10). Dees began the weekend by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI in a win over North Texas. The next day, she was 2-of-4 and scored a run in BG's win over the host school, Elon. On Sunday, she capped the weekend by going 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs and an RBI in a run-rule win over Mount St. Mary's. On the season, Dees leads the Falcons with a .486 batting average, and she also paces the Falcons in hits (17) doubles (6), homers (2 – tied for team lead), total bases (29), slugging pct. (.829) and on-base pct. (.538). Dees has had seven multiple-hit games in her first 10 contests as a Falcon.
 
Ufuoma Ogagan, Buffalo       
Outfielder, Sophomore, Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway Senior High School
 
Buffalo sophomore outfielder Ufuoma Ogagan had her best weekend at the plate for the Bulls at the Marucci Desert Classic hosted by UNLV as she was able to lead the Bulls with a .417 batting average as she notched two home runs, four RBI and five runs scored across four games. Ogagan was able to record two multi-hit games as she opened the weekend with a 2-for-3 effort against UNLV in which she notched a solo home run and a double while scoring a pair of runs. After a one-hit effort against Boise State, Ogagan was able to produce her best game of the season against Utah State as she went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored as the Bulls lost a shootout to the Aggies. On the season, the sophomore is leading UB with a .429 batting average to go along with two home runs, five RBI and five runs scored.
 
Jenny Van Geertry, Northern Illinois        
Outfield, Junior, Mokena, Ill. / Lincoln Way East High School
 
Northern Illinois junior outfielder Jenny Van Geertry hit two home runs in last weekend's College of Charleston "Cougar Classic". On Friday, College of Charleston was up 2-1 in the top of the fifth, when Geertry, with two outs smacks a three-run homer to put the Huskies in the lead, 5-3, and eventually winning by that margin. Her second home run came against in the Sunday loss versus Longwood, 7-2, to lead off the second. Van Geertry ended her weekend batting .357 with 2 homers with five driven and had a .786 slugging percentage and a .471 on base percentage. Van Geertry also awarded the Northern Illinois University Scholar Athlete of the Week this week. Huskies went 2-3 this weekend defeating tournament host College of Charleston and Iona.
 
Mikayla Cooper, Ohio        
First Base, Senior, Delaware, Ohio / Rutherford B. Hayes High School
 
Ohio senior Mikayla Cooper led the Bobcats at the plate during the first weekend of play for Ohio, batting .400 with six hits in 15 at bats. She registered one double, one triple and one home run while drawing three walks. She scored one run while driving in three and recorded 12 total bases. She was also hit by a pitch and only struck out once while slugging. 800 and registering a .526 on base percentage while registering one error in the field during her first full weekend playing first base. She also recorded 18 put outs and one assist. On Feb. 16 in the 4-0 win against Virginia, Cooper went 1-for-4 with a double. Later in the day against UNCG, Cooper went 2-of-2 with a home run, a run scored and an RBI, while also drawing one walk in the 5-2 victory. On Feb. 17 against UMass, Cooper went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Then on Feb. 18 against Jacksonville State, Cooper wrapped up her weekend by going 2-of-3 with a triple and an RBI in Ohio's 3-0 victory.