Scali Tallies Fifth Weekly Honor
MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Andrea Scali, Kent State
Pitcher, Redshirt freshman, Parma, Ohio / Parma, Ohio
Kent State redshirt freshman pitcher Andrea Scali threw her second no-hitter of the year and did not surrender a run in 22.2 innings of work this week while recording four wins. She struck out 32 while only surrendering eight hits and holding the opposition to a .107 batting average. She began the week throwing a five-inning shutout in a 10-0 win at Pitt and only allowed two hits while striking out eight. A day later, she threw a seven-inning no-hitter against Robert Morris while striking out 11. She did not allow even a fly ball hit to the outfield until the seventh inning and was one error away from a perfect game. It’s the first time a MAC freshman pitcher has thrown two no-hitters in the same season since 2012. Earlier this season she became the first Kent State freshman to throw a no-hitter since 2009. In a conference weekend against Akron, she threw 10.2 innings over two games and allowed only six hits while striking out 13. She recorded two victories and one complete game shutout.
MAC Softball Player of the Week
Sam Schmidt, Northern Illinois
Shortstop, Senior, Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook
Sam Schmidt played a major role in NIU's 4-1 week, which included a series win at Central Michigan and a doubleheader sweep of Loyola. The Huskie senior batted .563, recording nine hits, six of which went for extra bases, in 16 at bats and droving in a team best nine runs. The shortstop from Lombard, Ill., began her week with a 2-for-4, three-RBI performance in NIU's 7-6 11-inning victory over local foe Loyola. With the bases loaded, two outs and the Huskies trailing 6-3, Schmidt ripped a bases clearing single to center field to tie the game. The Huskies went on to win the game, 7-6. She hit four of her five doubles on the week in NIU's series victory at Central Michigan and drove in six runs. Schmidt was 2-for-4 with two RBIs in NIU's 13-6 win over the Chippewas in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. She was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the Huskies' 9-0 five-inning victory over CMU. Schmidt was 2-for-3 with a double and a home run in the Huskies' series opener with the Chippewas.
Other Pitcher Nominees
Adrian Smith, Akron
Pitcher, Junior, St., Clairsville, Ohio / St. Clairsville
Smith pitched back-to-back complete-game shutouts against Niagara which included a one-hitter and nine strikeouts and a three-hitter in game two with a career-high 10 strikeouts. It was the first time in her Akron career posting consecutive CG shutouts and the 19 K's are the most against one opponent.
Sydney Stefanick, Western Michigan
RHP, Sophomore, Johnstown, Ohio (Johnstown)
Western Michigan sophomore Sydney Stefanick appeared in four games in the pitcher's circle while the Broncos went 3-2 on the week, tallying 14 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched. Stefanick made two starts and notched a 3-0 record with a 1.19 ERA, headlined by a complete game shutout in game one versus Bowling Green. She followed up that performance with six strikeouts in six innings to earn the win in the series finale on Saturday.
Mackenzie Bryan, Northern Illinois
Pitcher, Sophomore, Elwood, Ind./Elwood
Mackenzie Bryan helped NIU to a 4-1 record on the week and improved to 13-11 on the season after going 1-1 in three appearances this week. She posted a 2.44 ERA, allowing eight runs, five earned, and held opposing batters to .333 average. Her best performance of the week came in the rubber game of NIU's series with Central Michigan. Bryan pitched five scoreless inning of softball and allowed only two hits in the Huskies' 9-0 five-inning series winner. She got the no decision in NIU's 7-6 11-inning win over Loyola after pitching seven-and-two-thirds innings.
Courtney Vierstra, Miami
Pitcher, Sophomore, Thornville, Ohio (Lakewood)
Sophomore pitcher Courtney Vierstra set the tone in the series against Buffalo as the RedHawks earned their second conference sweep of the season to stay atop of the MAC standings. Vierstra had a 0.00 ERA this week through 12 innings of work. She earned a perfect 2-0 record, only giving up five hits and two walks. Vierstra struck out a total of 24 batters on the week to bring her season total to 188, ranking eighth in a single season in program history and second in the league. Vierstra started the Buffalo series with a complete-game shutout on Friday, striking out 13 batters over the seven innings. In the final game of the series, she came in as relief to start the third inning and finished the game to earn the win. She gave up only one hit and walked nobody over five innings while striking out 11. Vierstra held her opponents' batting average to just .122.
Maggie McGurk, Toledo
Pitcher, Sophomore, Streator, Ill.
Sophomore pitcher Maggie McGurk had a dominating performance in Toledo’s second game against Ball State on Friday as she earned her sixth win of the year after five innings of work. McGurk started off by entering the game in the third inning with no outs and the bases loaded. After leaving the frame unscathed, the Streator, Ill. native would go on to allow just one run while striking out six of the 21 batters she faced. The sophomore never walked a single Cardinal, marking the second time she hasn’t allowed a walk while pitching at least three innings this season. Her six strikeouts also tied her career high (Feb. 15, Kennesaw State).
Other Player Nominees
Erik Underwood, Central Michigan
First Base, Senior, Addison, Mich./Addison HS
Underwood had five hits including two doubles and a triple in eight at-bats to finish a three-game MAC series with Northern Illinois with a .625 batting average.
Erin Barg, Western Michigan
Second Base, Sr., Romeo, Mich. (Romeo)
Western Michigan senior second baseman paced the Bronco offense through five games this week, turning in a .417 batting average while playing sound defense with a .950 fielding percentage. Barg totaled a pair of multi-hit performances with five hits and two runs batted in.
Johniann Wahl, Miami
Infielder, Senior, Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif.(Palos Verdes)
Senior infielder Johniann Wahl led the Miami offense as the RedHawks swept Buffalo for their second conference sweep of the season to stay atop of the MAC standings. Wahl had at least one hit in every game against the Bulls, highlighted by a 3-of-4, three RBI performance in the 8-1 win in the second game of the weekend. Wahl led Miami at the plate in batting average (.556), hits (5) and on-base percentage (.600) while being second in RBI (3) and total bases (5). She drove in what would be the game-winning run in the second game of the series.
Jen Cader, Kent State
Outfield, Senior, Hatboro, Pa. / Hatboro-Horsham
Kent State senior outfielder Jen Cader put together a six-RBI day against Robert Morris and clubbed four extra-base hits this week. She hit .400 (6-for-15) and slugged .933 while registering an on base percentage of .500 and aided the Flashes to a perfect 5-0 week. She was 1-for-3 against Pitt with a second inning RBI single that helped kick start the Golden Flashes offense that run-ruled the Panthers 10-0 in five innings. She exploded in a doubleheader against Robert Morris going 5-for-7 and totaling six RBIs and two home runs. She drove in four on a double and a home run in the first game. She led off game two with a homer and later plated another run with her second double of the day as Kent State won 11-3 and 7-0 against the Colonials. In the Flashes doubleheader against Akron, she reached base three times from the leadoff spot in the order on base on balls and came around to score twice.
Morgan Paaverud, Toledo
First Base, Junior, Anoka, Minn.
Junior Morgan Paaverud led the Rockets at the plate this weekend as she went 2-for-3 with one run, a double, a 3-RBI homer, and three walks in the Rockets’ doubleheader against Ball State. The Anoka, Minn. native’s fourth-inning two-outs home run was her third 3-RBI dinger of the season. The runs brought UT out of a 1-0 deficit and ended up being the game-winning scores as Toledo would go on to win 5-2 in the nightcap after falling 4-2 in game one. Throughout the weekend, Paaverud never struck out in six plate appearances, reaching base in all but one trip to the batter’s box.
Payton Hamm, Bowling Green
Outfield, Sophomore, Crestwood, Ky. / Oldham County
Bowling Green sophomore outfielder Payton Hamm led the Falcons with a .438 batting average last week. Hamm went 7-for-16 at the plate, and was directly involved in the scoring of five of BG’s seven runs on the week. She had a slugging percentage of .500 and an on-base pct. of .471 on the week, with a walk, a double, a run scored and four RBI. Hamm hit .500 in the Falcons’ MAC games last week, going 5-for-10 in the Western Michigan series. Hamm had three-straight two-hit games last week, going 2-for-3 in the second game of the Detroit doubleheader, then going 2-for-2 with a walk in Friday’s WMU game. On Saturday, Hamm went 2-for-4 in the first game of the day, including a bases-loaded, three-run double that gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead in an eventual 4-2 win over the Broncos. In the nightcap, she had an RBI single and eventually came around to score. On the season, Hamm is batting .296, and she is second on the team with an on-base pct. of .412 and third on the Falcons with a .469 slugging pct. In MAC games, she is second on the team with a .366 batting average and a .512 slugging pct., and she leads the team in both runs batted in (12) and OBP (.481).
