Softball Player of the Week
Kayla Lissy, Ball State
Shortstop, Freshman, Valrico, Fla. / Durant
Freshman Kayla Lissy led the Ball State offense with a .588 batting average over last week’s six games, smashing 10 hits over her 17 at bats. In addition, she was a perfect 7-for-7 stolen base attempts. Her biggest hit of the weekend opened Ball State’s seven-run third inning in Sunday’s series finale versus Ohio. With two on, she missed her first out-of-the-park home run by a fraction of an inch on a RBI double which bounced off the top of the fence back into play. Moments later, she was able to steal home to account for two of the seven runs in the frame as Ball State rallied from down 6-1 to win 11-7.
Softball Pitcher of the Week
Jessica LeBeau, Kent State
Pitcher, Freshman, Hartville, Ohio / Lake
Jessica LeBeau had a 0.91 ERA with 28 strikeouts over 23 innings in the circle against Buffalo and Bowling Green this past week. LeBeau fanned 10 batters in each of her first two starts, which included a two-hit shutout at BG on Friday. She added six strikeouts and allowed a single run during the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader and then tossed two scoreless relief innings in the series finale. Opponents hit just .182 against the right-hander for the week.
Other Nominees
Katie Keller, Northern Illinois University
C/INF, Junior, Geneva, Ill./Geneva
Katie Keller led the way for NIU during its 3-1 series win over Akron last weekend at Mary M. Bell Field. The Huskie junior batted a team-best .455, going 5-for-11 with five RBIs, two runs scored and four walks in four games against the Zips. She recorded two multi-hit, multi-RBI games on the weekend and was instrumental in NIU's first win of the series. In game one of Saturday's doubleheader and the score tied 3-3 with two on and one out, the conference leader in doubles added to her tally with a two-run double to left-center field putting NIU up for good in a 6-3 win over the Zips. Keller was also walked twice in the game and stole three bases. She came back in game two with a 2-for-3, one RBI performance in the Huskies' 7-0 win over Akron in game two.
Mikenzie Vaughn, Ohio
Second Base, Graduate Student, Kennesaw Ga. / Harrison
Graduate Student Mikenzie Vaughn led Ohio offensively this past week, batting .417 with five hits, one double, one homerun, five runs scored and three RBI. She also registered nine total bases and a .750 slugging percentage. She also recorded one walk with one sacrifice fly and recorded a .429 on base percentage. On April 24 at Ball State, Vaughn came in clutch in the 301 victory, recording two hits and scoring one run.
Mackenzie Moore, Miami University
Infielder, Senior, Phoenix, Arizona/Desert Vista
Mackenzie Moore was a key cog in the Miami offensive machine as the RedHawks ran off four run-rule victories on Toledo after a mid-week split vs Ball State. The senior from Phoenix, Ariz., went 8-for-13 versus Rocket pitching, hitting three doubles, a triple and two home runs for Miami. Moore had 12 RBI and scored five runs in the RedHawks sweep of the Rockets. For the week, Moore hit .474, had a slugging percentage of 1.053 and had an on-base percentage of .524.
Megan Turner, Kent State
First Base, Junior, Warren, Ohio / Champion
Megan Turner posted a .333/.429/.889 slash line with three home runs and 10 RBIs to lead Kent State’s offense in games against Buffalo and Bowling Green. Turner reached safely in the Golden Flashes’ final five games of the week, including all three against MAC ERA leader Payton Gottshall in the weekend series at BG. The junior had a career performance in Tuesday’s second game against Buffalo, going 3-for-3 with two homers and five RBIs. Turner drove in a pair of runs during both games of a doubleheader sweep of the Falcons on Friday, hitting a two-run blast in the opener and then a two-run double in the top of the first inning of game two. Her single in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader led to both of Kent State’s runs on the day.
Anna Aguon, Buffalo
UTL, Senior, Vancouver, WA (Liberty)
Senior Anna Aguon had a stellar week at the plate to lead Buffalo to a pair of series splits at Kent State and at Central Michigan. Aguon batted .500 with 10 hits, two home runs, seven RBI and eight runs scored while recording a .850 slugging percentage and .583 on base percentage in six games. Aguon went 3-of-4 at the plate, including a lead off home run, in the series opener at CMU. She followed that up with two hits, including the game-tying RBI, in the second game of Friday's doubleheader before recording two hits and a pair of RBI in Saturday's 6-3 win. The highlight of the weekend came on Sunday as Aguon led off the game with a home run to help the Bulls set a new single-season home run record with their 37th home run of the season. On the season, the Vancouver, WA native is leading the Bulls in batting average (.345), hits (38), runs scored (24), doubles (6), slugging percentage (.609) and on base percentage (.409) while also recording seven home runs and 23 RBI.
Mackenzie Bryan, Northern Illinois University
Pitcher, Senior, Elwood, Ind./Elwood
Mackenzie Bryan was brilliant in the circle for NIU in her two starts versus Akron last weekend. She pitched a complete game shutout to finish a doubleheader sweep of the Zips Saturday and came back to pitch four strong innings in the series finale victory on Sunday. The Huskie senior recorded a 0.64 earned run average, after allowing one earned run in 11 innings of work. Bryan held the Zips to two hits and four walks while striking out seven in a 7-0 victory Saturday, NIU's second of the day over Akron. The next day, she kept the Huskies in the contest until the bats could heat up. Bryan allowed three runs, one earned on two hits and four walks in Sunday's 8-4 victory in the series finale.
Courtney Vierstra, Miami University
Pitcher, Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood
After taking only her third loss of the season on Tuesday versus Ball State, Miami's ace came back with a no-hitter to begin the weekend series on the road against Toledo, striking out 10 Rockets in the complete game victory. Vierstra came back on Saturday and continued her dominance over the Rockets, pitching 3.0 innings in a 14-0 run-rule victory. The senior from Thornville, Ohio allowed just 2 hits and struck out six Rocket batters. For the week, Vierstra allowed opposing batters a mere .111 average and struck out 27 batters, allowing just four runs. Vierstra's record on the season now stands at 16-3.
Payton Gottshall, Bowling Green
Pitcher, R-Freshman, Massillon, Ohio (Perry)
Bowling Green’s Payton Gottshall started, and completed, four of BGSU’s five games last week, with a 1.40 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 30 innings of work. She had a 2-2 record in the circle, and began the week by going all nine innings in a 5-3 road win over Toledo. On Sunday vs. Kent State, she threw back-to-back complete games, throwing a total of 254 pitches including 172 strikes. Gottshall did not allow an earned run in 14 innings on Sunday. She recorded her seventh shutout of the season – the highest total by a Falcon pitcher since 2006 – in Sunday’s second game, and now has 211 strikeouts on the year, the second-highest total in school history. Gottshall is now 13-8 this season, with a 1.56 ERA, an opponent batting average of .176 and those 211 strikeouts in 139.1 innings pitched this season.
