Scali and Hansen Earn Softball Weekly Honors
MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week
Andrea Scali, Kent State
Pitcher, Redshirt freshman, Parma, Ohio / Parma
Kent State redshirt freshman pitcher Andrea Scali struck out 30 batters and earned three conference wins while holding the opposition to a .187 batting average last week. Scali went 3-0 on the week and threw three complete games. In 21 innings of work, her ERA was a minuscule 1.33 with 30 strikeouts to just six walks. On Tuesday, she outdueled Ohio’s ace in a 2-1 Kent State victory. She allowed only one run and struck out eight and held the Bobcats to one run in a loss for the first time in 18 games. She followed up on Friday and on the road at Western Michigan firing a complete-game three-hitter in which she struck out 12 and did not walk a batter. The Parma, Ohio native retired 18 consecutive Broncos in a row from the first through the seventh inning. She spun another gem in the series finale and helped the Flashes sweep the Broncos with a complete game 10 strikeout performance. She allowed just one earned run on four hits. Scali is currently sixth in the country with 10.4 strikeouts per seven innings and fifth in the nation among freshmen in strikeouts (151).
MAC Softball Playerof the Week
Sara Hansen, Central Michigan
CF, Senior, Mount Pleasant, Mich./Sacred Heart HS
Hansen, the Chippewas' No. 2 hitter, led her team with eight hits including five for extra bases as CMU went 4-1 during the week and emerged from a weekend sweep of Ohio in second place in the league standings. Hansen hit .571 (8 for 14) on the week and her plate performance included a three-hit game along with a pair of two-hit games. She had an RBI triple and a two-run double in the Chippewas' 6-3 victory over Ohio on Saturday in the opener of a doubleheader.
Other Pitcher Nominees
Erin Hunt, Toledo
Pitcher, Sophomore, Dansville, Mich. / Dansville
Sophomore standout Erin Hunt recorded her seventh and eighth wins of the year this weekend as she tossed two complete game victories against the Zips, the first being a seven-inning shutout. Through 14 innings of work, Hunt only gave up six hits, one run and four walks as her side picked up nine runs between her two appearances. The DII transfer struck out 14 batters over the weekend and rode a 6 inning no-no in the final game of the series. After the weekend, Hunt now has the fourth best opposing ERA (.215) in the conference.
Kaitlyn Bean, Central Michigan
RHP, Freshman, Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS
Bean, a freshman right-hander, turned in an outstanding week in winning all three of her starts as the Chippewas went 4-1 and emerged from the week in second place in the MAC standings. Bean pitched the Chippewas to an 11-3 five-inning run-rule victory over Western Michigan in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, and then tossed two complete-game victories over the weekend against Ohio, which entered the series leading the MAC with a .310 team batting average and ranked ninth nationally with 51 home runs. Bean surrendered three runs on six hits while striking out two against Western Michigan. She allowed three runs on three hits and struck out six in the Chippewas' 6-3 victory over Ohio in the series opener. Bean returned to the circle for game two -- the series finale -- of Saturday's doubleheader and managed to limit the Bobcats to four runs despite 11 hits.
Meredith Miller, Bowling Green
Pitcher, Senior, Sugar Land, Texas (Clements)
Bowling Green senior Meredith Miller was 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA last week. Miller was nothing short of dominant in the Falcons’ weekend series at Ball State. On Friday, she fired a complete-game two-hitter as BG defeated the preseason MAC favorite, 4-1. Then, on Saturday, she pitched five innings of scoreless, one-hit relief in a 5-4 Falcon win over the Cardinals. In the two games in Muncie, she went 2-0 with an ERA of just 0.58 and a miniscule opponent batting average of .079. She gave up a total of just three hits in 12 innings of work. On the week, Miller allowed the foes to hit just .180 against her. On the season, Miller is 11-9 with eight complete games and 119 strikeouts in 119 1/3 innings of work.
Courtney Vierstra, Miami
Pitcher, Sophomore, Thornville, Ohio (Lakewood)
Courtney Vierstra was the staple of the Miami pitching staff as the RedHawks went 4-1 and won two road MAC series last week. Vierstra appeared in all five games on the week, earning two wins - both during complete games. Her ERA was 1.84 this week. She pitched the complete game in the 10-2 six-inning win at Bowling Green, striking out seven, as well as the complete game in the 3-1 win at Northern Illinois, striking out 11. In both wins, Vierstra gave up just one earned run. She earned her third save of the season in the final game of the series against NIU to secure the game win and series win for the RedHawks. Vierstra's 11-strikeout win against NIU marked the sixth game this season she's struck out at least 10 batters. She added 26 strikeouts this week to bring her season total to 147 - good for second in the conference. Vierstra is also second in the conference in strikeouts looking with 41.
Other Player Nominees
Alex Day, Ohio
Third Base, Senior, Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Bradley
Senior Alex Day led the Bobcats this past week, batting .500 with seven hits in 14 at bats. She recorded three homers, had five RBI, scored six runs and registered a 1.143 slugging percentage. She drew three walks and has a .588 on base percentage. On April 2 at Kent State, Day continued her reign of terror at the Diamond at Dix, going 4-for-4 in two games. She hit three homers, had five RBI, 13 total bases, scored four runs and had a 3.250 slugging percentage in those two games. She also drew three walks and had a perfect on base percentage during the doubleheader.
Kaitlyn Bergman, Toledo
Catcher, Senior, Lebanon, Ohio/ Lebanon
Senior catcher Kaitlyn Bergman had herself a weekend as she helped UT go 2-1 at home against Akron. Bergman went 6-for-9 through 12 plate appearances, collecting two RBIs, two runs, three walks two stolen bases, and a solo homer throughout the series. With her help, the Rockets out hit the Zips 31-19 and picked up 14 runs. Out of all UT batters, Bergman now has the second best OBP, is tied for the most homers (4), and has the fourth-most total bases (33). The senior’s two hits on Friday also helped the Rockets tie for the most hits given up in a single game (10) by Akron’s Adrian Smith as well.
Brenna Brownfield, Kent State
Utility, Sophomore, Thornville, Ohio
Kent State sophomore Brenna Brownfield hit .467 and slugged 1.000 last week and led the Golden Flashes to four conference wins and earn a sweep over Western Michigan. Brownfield was 7-for-15 and smashed five extra-base hits with three doubles, a triple and a home run. She compiled an impressive .467/.500/1.000 over the last week and helped move Kent State into first place in the Mid-American Conference standings. Her spot in the lineup accounted for all of Kent State’s runs in a 2-1 win over Ohio on Tuesday. She reached in the second on a double and her spot was driven in to tie the game at one. In the fourth inning, she clubbed a solo home run to left center to give Kent State the lead for good. In the nightcap of the series, she launched another double. Her bat was instrumental in Kent State’s series sweep over Western Michigan as the Flashes came from behind in every game. On Friday, she slammed a two-RBI double that barely stayed in the park off the left field fence to give KSU a 2-1 lead in the sixth. She recorded another RBI and doubled in the Flashes 6-3 middle game victory. With the game tied in the sixth she cranked a triple off the base of the wall that plated the go-ahead run in the 4-1 series finale.
She registered a hit in all five games this week and an RBI in all but one game.
Anne Allen, Northern Illinois
Infielder, Jr., Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North
Anne Allen was the offensive catalyst during the Huskies' five-game homestand, and was a key player in a pair of NIU wins. Allen, who started all five games, splitting time between second and third, batted in a team-best .450 on the week with five RBIs, which also led way for the Huskies. She was a perfect 4-for-4 with an RBI,the game winner, in the 7-6 series opening victory against Ball State. She gave NIU a walk-off 4-3 victory in game two of its series with Miami. With two on, two outs, and the Huskies trailing, 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Allen belted a gapper to left center field to clear the bases and give NIU the win.
Sydney Stefanick, Western Michigan
3B/DH, So., Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown
Sophomore Sydney Stefanick paced the Western Michigan offense throughout the week, tallying hits in four of five games played while compiling four runs batted in, a pair of doubles, and a home run good for a .438 batting average. Stefanick went 3-3 at the plate in game two at Central Michigan and leads the Broncos this season with 28 RBI.
Ashton Slone, Miami
Infielder, Sophomore, Plainfield, Ind. (Plainfield)
Sophomore infielder Ashton Slone continued to lead Miami's offense as the RedHawks went 4-1 and won two MAC series on the road this week. Slone went 7-of-16 (.438) on the week, getting at least one hit in each of the five contests. She went 2-of-3 with three RBI and two runs in Miami's 7-2 win at Bowling Green after going 2-of-4 with two RBI in the six-inning 10-2 win in game one. Three of her seven hits were extra-base hits, two doubles and a home run. Slone led Miami in batting average (.438), hits (7), doubles (2), home runs (1), RBI (6), total bases (12), slugging percentage (.750) and on-base percentage (.500) this week. Slone continues to be in the top-10 in the conference in batting average (.400), slugging percentage (.689), on-base percentage (.505), RBI (26) and doubles (11) this season.
Alexis Matheney, Buffalo
OF, Freshman, Lancaster, OH
Freshman Alexis Matheney had herself a day in Tuesday's doubleheader at Akron. Matheney went .667 (4-for-6) at the plate with five RBI, a grand slam, a double and four runs scored while recording a 1.333 slugging percentage and .778 on base percentage. Her four runs scored in game two tied a UB single-game record.
