MAC Announces Softball Players of the Week
MAC Co-Softball Player of the Week
Jen Cader, Kent State
Outfield, Senior, Hatboro, Pa. / Hatboro-Horsham
Senior Kent State outfielder Jen Cader turned in a career week in which she recorded eight RBIs in one day and sparked a Golden Flashes offense that won three games. She batted .556 (5-for-9) and cranked two doubles, two home runs and drove in eight RBIs. Cader slugged 1.444 for the week and scored four runs while drawing two walks. On Tuesday at Monmouth with Kent State down to its final out, Cader clubbed the go-ahead three-run home run to right to lift the Flashes to a 3-1 victory over the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions. In the nightcap Cader hit another three-run home run and drove in two more with a double. She also recorded another double against Lehigh.
Morgan Geno, Ohio
DH/1B, Senior, Chillicothe, Ohio
Senior Morgan Geno led the Bobcats this past week, helping Ohio go 3-1 overall, while also setting the new all-time Ohio RBI record. Geno hit .444 in nine official at bats, scoring four runs, hitting four homers, registering eight RBI, slugging 1.778 and drawing four walks. She also has a .615 on base percentage and in the field at first past, Geno had 10 putouts and did not commit an error. On March 26 against Northern Kentucky, Geno went 1-for-2 with the go ahead two-run homerun in the sixth inning. That homerun gave Geno two RBI for the days, helping her became the new Ohio all-time RBI leader. Then on March 29 against NIU, Geno went 1-for-3 with a homerun and two RBI in Ohio's 11-3 five inning win. In the second game of the doubleheader, Geno drew three walks. In the final game of the series, Geno went 2-for-4 with two homers, two runs scored and four RBI in the 8-4 victory.
MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Meredith Miller, Bowling Green
Pitcher, Senior, Sugar Land, Texas / Clements
Bowling Green senior Meredith Miller was 2-0 with an ERA of just 1.00 last week, as the Falcons went 3-1 overall. On the week, Miller allowed just nine hits in 14 innings, for an opponent batting average of just .173. She walked only one hitter and struck out 19. Miller took a no-hitter into the sixth inning at Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday, picking up a 5-1 win. She allowed three hits in the victory, striking out 10 Mastodons without issuing a single walk. Then, on Friday, Miller picked up another complete-game win, this time against Toledo. She scattered six hits and allowed just one earned run vs. the Rockets, walking one and striking out nine. On the year, Miller is now 9-8 with a 3.30 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 101 2/3 innings.
Other Player Nominees
Megan Choate, Toledo
2B, Senior, Montesano, Wash./ Montesano
Senior 2B Megan Choate had herself a day in Toledo’s Friday doubleheader against Bowling Green. Choate went .500 (4-for-8) with five RBIs, a three-run homer, three runs and a walk to help the Rockets ground the Falcons 13-4 in the nightcap. Her five RBIs tied the UT program record for most batters brought around in a single game, and she’s one walk away from tying her career record for walks in a season (23) and four behind conference-leader Morgan Geno of Ohio. With her efforts, UT recorded 15 runs and 18 hits over the weekend. Choate and sophomore teammate Kylie Norwood also reached the 20-run mark on Friday. The two now lead the team in runs and have 10 more than anyone else on the squad.
Taylor Blevins, Bowling Green
Outfielder, Junior, Greensburg, Pa. / Hempfield
Bowling Green junior OF Taylor Blevins hit .400 last week, as the Falcons went 3-1. She had two hits in three of the four games, scoring three runs and driving in one. Blevins went 2-for-4 in the Falcons’ first win over Purdue Fort Wayne, stealing a base and scoring a run. Then, she was 2-for-4 with a run in both ends of Friday’s Toledo doubleheader. Blevins had an RBI in the first game, driving in the run that gave BG a 3-1 lead in what wound up being a 3-2 victory. Blevins has had five multiple-hit games in her last six contests, and has raised her batting average 30 points in that time. On the season, she is hitting .364, and she ranks second on the Falcons in both batting average and stolen bases (6). Blevins had two hits during all of last season and a total of nine hits over her first two years, but she has 24 hits this season to date.
Erik Underwood, Central Michigan
First base, Senior, Pittsford, Mich./Addison HS
Underwood hit .500 (4 for 8) with 4 RBI as the Chippewas went 1-1-1 in a three-game series at Buffalo. Among her hits was a home run, her fifth of the season.
Kaylen Glenfield, Western Michigan
OF, Jr., Garden City, Mich. / Garden City
Junior outfielder Kaylen Glenfield slashed .615/.615/.923 with a home run, double, and five runs batted in as Western Michigan went 2-1 on the week, falling at Notre Dame prior to opening conference play with a pair of wins at Akron. Glenfield recorded the game-winning RBI during WMU's 4-3 comeback win in game one versus the Zips and led the Broncos in game two going 5-for-6 at the plate while WMU tallied a school record 22 hits.
Anna Aguon, Buffalo
UTL, Sophomore, Vancouver, WA
Sophomore Anna Aguon had a strong performance for the Bulls as they split their conference series with Central Michigan finishing with a .455 batting average, recording two RBI on five hits in 11 at bats, including a double, two home runs and three runs scored while recording a 1.091 slugging percentage and .455 on base percentage.
Ashton Slone,Miami
Infielder, Sophomore, Plainfield, Ind. (Plainfield)
Sophomore infielder Ashton Slone powered the Miami offense as the RedHawks went 2-0 this week with a sweep at Wright State. Slone led Miami with a .625 batting average, five hits, three runs, a double, a home run, four RBI, nine total bases, a 1.125 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage for the week. Slone batted in the winning run in both games. She went 3-of-4 with an RBI and two runs in the 6-0 shutout win in game one before going 2-of-4 with three RBI and a run in game two.
Other Pitcher Nominees
Madi Huck, Kent State
Pitcher, Junior, Delaware, Ohio / Delaware Hayes
Kent State junior pitcher Madi Huck earned a pair of victories this week and only allowed three earned runs as Kent State won three games overall this week. Huck was 2-0 and recorded a 2.33 ERA in 9.0 innings and walked just one to seven strikeouts. She defeated the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions, Monmouth, 13-5 in five innings on Tuesday. She only allowed three earned runs in the win and struck out a season-high seven. She followed up the very next day with a sensational performance against Lehigh. Huck worked four innings and allowed just one hit as the Golden Flashes staff one-hit the Mountain Hawks in a 5-0 victory. The only hit Huck allowed was an infield single that ricocheted off the third base bag. She pitched to contact extremely effectively and used precision control to not allowed a walk despite not recording a strikeout.
Madi McCrady, Ohio
RHP, Sophomore, Brimfield, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit
Sophomore pitcher Madi McCrady led Ohio in the circle this past week, going 3-0 with three starts and four appearances. She allowed eight runs, six earned, in 20.0 innings in the circle. She walked four and struck out 17 while opponents only hit 2.18 against her. On March 26 against Northern Kentucky, McCrady got the start, pitching seven innings, allowing one run, none earned, on four hits, while walking two and striking out 10 in the 3-1 complete game. McCrady returned on March 29 tp get the start I game once against NIU, pitching five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walked one and struck out nine in the 11-3 victory. McCrady returned to the circle late in game two, pitching one inning and did not allow a run or a hit while striking out one. In the faint game of the series, McCrady got the start again, pitching seven innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits. She walked one and struck out seven in the 8-4 victory.
Samantha Howell, Central Michigan
Pitcher, Sophomore, Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg HS
Howell made two appearances in the series, recorded one save while striking out 13. She allowed five runs on 13 hits and walked four.
Reilly Galloway, Western Michigan
Pitcher, So., Laporte, Ind. / Laporte
Sophomore pitcher Reilly Galloway helped guide Western Michigan to a 2-0 start in MAC play, limiting the Zips to a .194 batting average while earning wins in both games in the pitcher's circle. Galloway tossed a complete game during game one's 4-3 comeback victory and pitched the final 3.1 innings to tally a win in game two.
Courtney Vierstra, Miami
Pitcher, Sophomore, Thornville, Ohio (Lakewood)
Sophomore pitcher Courtney Vierstra pitched the most efficient game of her Miami career in a 6-0 shutout against Wright State. Vierstra pitched the complete-game shutout, striking out a career-high 16 batters, to average over two strikeouts per inning. She only gave up three hits, all of which were singles, to force Wright State's offense to bat just .125 for the game. Vierstra only gave up one walk. After Tuesday's games, Vierstra led the league in strikeouts (121) and was second in strikeouts looking (33). She averages more than 1.5 strikeouts per inning this season.
