MAC Announces Softball Player of the Week
MAC Softball Co-Pitcher of the Week
Sarah Venker, Ball State
Pitcher, Freshman, Houston, Texas / Episcopal
Freshman pitcher Sarah Venker continued to shine in the circle for Ball State, picking up a pair of wins, posting a perfect 0.00 ERA and limiting Akron to a .172 batting average to help the Cardinals sweep a three-game series versus Akron last weekend. More impressive, she was the only starting pitcher in the league not to give up an earned run last weekend. Over 8.0 innings of work, Venker struck out six batters and allowed just five hits. She entered the series opener in relief, throwing the final 4.0 innings in the 14-6 (6) victory. Along the way, she limited Akron to five hits and a pair of unearned runs, while striking out four batters. She went on to start the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, throwing the first 4.0 innings and limiting the Zips to just one hit. She also fanned a pair of batters in the 9-1 (6) victory.
Andrea Scali, Kent State
Pitcher, Redshirt freshman, Parma, Ohio / Parma
Kent State redshirt freshman pitcher Andrea Scali hurled the first Golden Flashes’ no-hitter by a freshman since 2009 when she defeated Youngstown State on Wednesday, 10-0. She struck seven and walked four in the no-hit effort. For the week, Scali made four appearances with two starts and went 2-0 and earned her first collegiate save. She had an ERA of 1.84 and allowed five earned runs in 19 innings pitched a fanned 27 hitters while holding the opposition to a .164 batting average. After her no-hitter against the Penguins, she was victorious in KSU’s conference opener at Toledo, 6-1. She struck out nine and the Rockets scratched out a late run to break up the shutout. On Saturday, she came out of the pen with the bases loaded and Kent State leading by two in the sixth and recorded her first career save throwing 1.1 innings with three strikeouts. She closed out the week tossing 5.2 innings out of the pen, but received a no-decision.
MAC Softball Player of the Week
Katie Yun, Ohio
Shortstop, Sophomore, North Canton
Sophomore Katie Yun led Ohio this past week on the field, helping the Bobcats to a 4-0 record. Overall, Yun hit .556 with 10 hits, nine runs scored, six homers and had nine RBI, while slugging 1.556. She registered 28 total bases, drew one walk, and had one stolen base and one sacrifice hit. She had a .909 fielding percentage, three putouts and seven assists and one error. She also had a .579 on base percentage. On March 19 at Pitt, she was unstoppable, going 4-of-6 with three homeruns, four RBI and three runs scored in the 11-9 victory. Then on March 22 against Bowling Green, she went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two homeruns and three runs scored in the 7-2 victory. Then in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, she went 2-for-3 with with one RBI and one run scored in the 8-7 victory. Then in the final game of the series, she went 2-for-5 with a homerun, two runs scored and one RBI in the 15-10 victory.
Other Player Nominees
Erika Underwood, Central Michigan
1B, Senior, Pittsford, Mich./Addison HS
Underwood, a senior first baseman from Pittsford, Mich., had four hits including two home runs and a double in eight at-bats and drove in six runs as the Chippewas took two of three at Miami (Ohio) in their Mid-American Conference-opening series. Her three-run homer broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth inning of the series opener and led to a 4-1 Chippewa victory.
Kira Mickelson, Northern Illinois
Catcher, Sophomore, Wheatland, Wis./Westosha Central
Kira Mickelson led the way for the Huskies in their doubleheader split with Buffalo in the MAC opener Sunday. The Huskie sophomore batted a team-best .714 as she started both games at catcher for NIU. She went 5-for-7, including a double, from the plate with five RBIs and a run scored. She was a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBIs in NIU's 10-4 victory over the Bulls. Mickelson had a two-run RBI double in NIU's six-run second in game two and RBI singles in the third and fourth innings of game two.
Trinity Eckerty, Ball State
Outfield, Freshman, Indianapolis, Ind. /Scecina Memorial
Freshman outfielder Trinity Eckerty had a breakout weekend for Ball State softball, leading the team with a 1.143 slugging percentage while batting .571 to help the Cardinals open MAC play with a three-game series sweep of Akron. Eckerty recorded at least one hit and at least one RBI in all three games, helping the Cardinals out-score the Zips 36-8 for the series. She tallied 5 RBI on the weekend, scored three runs and tallied one of the team’s three home runs. In the series opener Friday, she singled and scored in the second inning, then started a three-run rally in the third with an RBI double to right-center field. She also scored later in the frame.
In Saturday’s doubleheader sweep, Eckerty started the opener with a two-run home run in BSU’s 11-run first inning and also drew a walk in the same frame. In the nightcap, she opened with a sacrifice fly in the first and came through with an RBI single in the third."
Jenelle Martinez, Buffalo
IF, Junior, Cypress, CA
Junior Jenelle Martinez had a strong performance for the Bulls as they split their conference-opening doubleheader with Northern Illinois finishing with a .667 batting average, recording four RBI on four hits in six at bats, including a double and a run scored while recording a .833 slugging percentage and .625 on base percentage.
Katie Cozy, Toledo
3B, Senior, Louisville, Ohio/Louisville
Senior Katie Cozy was a dominant force for Toledo this weekend against Kent State, going 6-for-10 with eight RBIs, one sac fly, and two homeruns. The senior only struck out once, is now leading a six-game hitting streak, and is now tied for seventh-most RBIs in the conference (17) after the weekend. With her contributions, UT won its final game of the series and snapped a five-game losing streak while recording 20 hits and 12 runs through three days of action.
Hunter Brancifort, Kent State
Utility, Senior, Pickerington, Ohio / Pickerington Central
Kent State senior Hunter Brancifort slugged 1.000 for the week and helped Kent State win its first conference series of the season. Brancifort hit .429 (6-for-14) in five games and scored seven runs with two doubles and two home runs. She was also hit by a pitch four times and walked once for a .579 on-base percentage. She was 2-fo-2 and was hit twice against Youngstown State and scored a career-high four runs in the victory over the Penguins. On Saturday against Toledo Brancifort was 2-for-3 with a solo home runs and two runs scored in the Kent State victory. Brancifort collected a hit in four out of the five games this week.
Kara Leckinger, Miami University
Catcher/Utility, Junior, Aurora, Ill. (Metea Valley)
Junior catcher/utility player Kara Leckinger led the Miami starters in all four games at the plate this week. Leckinger hit .600 on the week, totaling six hits, four of which were extra-base hits as she had a team-high four doubles. She also led the team in RBI (4), total bases (10), slugging percentage among starters (1.000) and on-base percentage (.636). Leckinger went 3-of-4 in Miami's first conference game of the season, including two doubles. She went 2-of-2 with two RBI, a double and a walk in the final game of the week against Central Michigan. Leckinger went 1-of-1 with an RBI double against Butler in the RedHawks' mid-week game. She did not strikeout all week. Leckinger was perfect from the field all week.
Other Pitcher Nominees
Kaitlyn Bean, Central Michigan
Pitcher, Freshman, Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS
Bean started and went four solid innings as the Chippewas defeated the RedHawks in the series opener, and then she came on in relief to notch the victory in the second game of the series. Both games went eight innings. On the weekend, she pitched in all three games, striking out three and allowing one run on five hits over 7 1/3 innings. She posted a 0.95 earned run average for the week.
Taylor Rathe, Miami
Pitcher, Sophomore, Cary, Ill. (Escanaba)
Sophomore Taylor Rathe led the Miami pitching staff this week with a 0.78 ERA as she only gave up one earned run in nine innings of work. She allowed just five hits over nine innings and forced her opponents to bat .152. Rathe earned part of the shutout in the mid-week game against Butler by pitching the first three innings and allowing just one hit while striking out two batters. Rathe pitched six innings in Miami's first game on Saturday against Central Michigan, giving up just one earned run on four hits and once again striking out two batters. She was perfect in the field, staying perfect for the season.
