MAC Announces Softball Players and Pitchers of the Week
East Player of the Week
Kat Lee, Miami, 3B
Junior, Mission Viejo, Calif/Capitstrano Valley
Junior third baseman Kat Lee had a quiet start to her weekend at the San Diego Classic, but came alive on Saturday to help Miami take two victories in the tournament. In Miami’s 14-4 victory over San Jose State, Lee finished 4-for-4 with her first two home runs of the season. A single in the second inning advanced a teammate to third base, leading to Miami taking the lead for the remainder of the game. In the third inning, Lee extended the team’s lead with a two-run homer to left-center. After singling and scoring in the fifth, Lee sealed Miami’s six-inning victory with another two-run shot that answered SJSU’s rally to extend the game in the previous inning. In the nightcap against hosting San Diego State, she continued her hot streak with a third two-run home run. Finally on Sunday against Boston University, Lee contributed to the RedHawks’ nine-run sixth inning rally with a two-run double to right-center that made the score 6-3. In her final three games of the weekend, Lee batted .429 with six hits, three home runs, nine RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.143.
East Pitcher of the Week
Savannah Jo Dorsey, Ohio, Pitcher
RS Senior, Grove City, Ohio/Central Crossing
Savannah Jo Dorsey led Ohio in the circle again, going 2-1 with a save in the circle. Overall, she complied a 0.71 ERA in 19.2 innings. She only allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out 21 batters and walking seven. Opponents hit .250 against her in her four appearences and two starts. She also recorded two complete games and one complete game shut out. Dorsey helped lead the Bobcats to a 4-1 weekend and a now 12-2 overall start to the season. In her first game of the weekend against Southeastern Lousiana, Dorsey entered the circle in the fourth inning. Overall she pitched 2.2 innings, and did not allow a hit or a run and struck out six of the nine batters that she faced to help Ohio to the 5-2 win. She also earned her second save of the season in the victory. Dorsey returned later that day agisnt No. 15 Tennessee. While the Bobcats would fall 2-1, Dorsey was solid after allowing two runs in the first innings, only allowing two hits after the opening frame. Overall, Dorsey pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five and walking four. The next day against Bradley, Dorsey got a ton of help from her offense. Dorsey pitched 4.0 innings in the 16-2 blow out, and did not allow a run on two hits while striking out three and did not walk a batter in the win. Dorsey returned to the circle in the file game of the weekend for the Bobcats agsinst Jacksonville State. In the defensive battle, Dorsey came away with the win, pitching all seven innings in the 1-0 shutout. She did not allow a run on two hits, while walking two and striking out seven.
West Player of the Week
Rachel Houck, Ball State, Center Field
Senior, Greenfield, Ind./Louisville
Ball State senior center fielder Rachel Houck had one of the best weekends of her career at the USF Under Armour Invitational, batting .500 over five games with 10 hits, four home runs and three doubles. She scored 10 of the Cardinals’ 36 runs in the tournament, while driving in six RBI and posting a 1.333 slugging percentage. She also drew a pair of walks, stole three bases and finished the tournament with a .550 on base percentage. She open the tournament with a double and run scored in the win over Hartford. She added her first of four home runs in the victory over Penn, while scoring a pair of runs. Houck celebrated her 22nd birthday in style Saturday, starting with a pair of home runs in a 10-0 (5) win over Towson. She blasted a two-run shot in the second inning and added a solo smash in the fifth to drive in three RBI in the game. She also drew a walk and scored all three times she reached base. Houck also accounted for both runs in the game versus USF, scoring the first in the top of the first after reaching base on a double. She also led off the top of the third with her third home run of the day and added a single in the fourth. Houck closed the weekend with a pair of hits versus St. Bonaventure, scoring a run in the first and another in the sixth after reaching base on an error. She also singled in the fifth inning.
West Pitcher of the Week
Rachael Knapp, Central Michigan, Pitcher
Senior, St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore
CMU rode a seven-game winning streak into Sunday’s matchup with Georgia State before dropping a 6-4 decision. Another 4-1 Florida road trip makes the Chippewas 8-2 in their last 10 games. Once again, Rachel Knapp’s success in the circle was a big reason why. Knapp threw two more complete game shutouts to raise her total to five in a row over eight starts. She opened the weekend giving up two hits and striking out 11 over seven innings in a 5-0 win over Villanova. The senior followed that up with seven more shutout innings the next day against Syracuse in which she did not walk a batter and fanned nine. Knapp was called into relief duty the following day against Georgia State, allowing a single unearned run on one hit in 4 2/3 innings. The St. Joseph, Mich. native still hasn’t given up an earned run in her last 38 2/3 innings pitched and has 64 strikeouts over that span.
Other Nominees
East Players
Chelsea Raker, Bowling Green, First Base
R-Junior; Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South
Bowling Green redshirt junior Chelsea Raker continue her torrid start to the season, hitting .500 as the Falcosn won three of five games at the Red & Black Tournament in Louisville. Raker had at least one hit in all five games, with a pair of two-hit games, an on-base percentage of .556 and a slugging .pct of .643. Raker had a walk and an RBI double vs. Indiana State on Friday, then was 2-for-2 with a walk and a double in a five-inning win vs. Green Bay. In the latter game, she walked and scored in the first inning, then came up later in the inning and singled. She had an RBI double in the inning. Raker had a hit against Louisville the next day, then was 2-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly in the nightcap vs. ISU. On Sunday against Green Bay, Raker had a single and an RBI. On the year, Raker is batting a team-best .463, and she also leads the Falcons in hits (25), doubles (9), homers (2 – tied for team lead), RBI (21), total bases (40), on-base pct. (.538) and slugging pct. (.741). Raker has had at least one hit in 14 of BG’s 19 games, with eight multiple-hit games.
Mikayla Cooper, Ohio, Shortstop
Junior, Delaware, Ohio/Rutherford B. Hayes
MiKalya Cooper led the Bobcats’ powerful offense this past week at the Tennessee Invitational. Overall she helped lead Ohio to a 4-1 weekend while starting all five games at shortstop. Overall on the weekend, Cooper hit .471 with eight hits in 17 at bats, she had one double, two homeruns, scored five runs and had six RBI. She also registered a .500 slugging percentage and a .938 fielding percentage. Cooper started the weekend off right against Southeastern Lousiana, hitting a three run homerun to give the Bobcats and early lead in the game and helped them to the 5-2 victory. Overall, Cooper was 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI Later in the day against no. 15 Tennessee, while Cooper did not have a hit, she did do her best to get on base and dre a walk in the Bobcats’ 2-1 defeat. The Follwing day against Bradley, Cooper led the offense explosion, She went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI in the 16-2 victory. The next day against Delaware, Cooper continued strong, hitting her second home run of the weekend, going 3-for-5 at the plate with on run scored and one RBI in the 9-4 victory.
East Pitchers
Brooke Parker, Bowling Green, Pitcher
Sophomore, Batavia, Ohio / Glen Este
Bowling Green sophomore pitcher Brooke Parker had the finest week of her career as the Falcons participated in the Red & Black Tournament in Louisville. Parker, who had one career complete game entering the weekend, threw three complete games in a three-day span, with a very misleading 1.75 ERA. Parker came one out away from a no-hitter on Sunday, settling for a complete-game one-hitter as the Falcons topped Green Bay, 4-1. She needed just 60 pitchers to get 21 outs, throwing 43 of those 60 pitches for strikes. Parker retired seven consecutive batters before issuing a one-out walk in the third inning, then set down 13-straight batters prior to allowing a solo homer with two outs in the seventh. She pitched well enough to win in her other two games on the weekend. On Saturday, Parker scattered seven hits and allowed only one run in a 1-0 loss to host Louisville. She needed only 87 pitches in that complete-game effort, with 59 strikes. Parker struck out six U of L batters and did not issue a walk. On Friday, Parker had pitched arguably the top game of her collegiate career (before topping it on Saturday and then topping THAT on Sunday). She retired 10-straight Indiana State batters to begin the game, and did not let ISU hit a ball out of the infield until the fifth. All three of the Sycamores’ runs came in that fifth frame, on a walk and four singles, three of which did not leave the infield. She threw 77 of her 122 pitches for strikes. Parker made just two starts among her 21 total appearances as a freshman, and her first four appearances this season came in relief. But, beginning last weekend, she has started four games and pitched a complete game in each of the four. Parker walked only two batters and struck out 14 in 20 innings on the week, allowing opponents to hit just .203 against her.
West Players
Allison Curtis, Central Michigan, Centerfielder
Sophomore, Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic
CMU rode a seven-game winning streak into Sunday’s matchup with Georgia State before dropping a 6-4 decision. Another 4-1 Florida road trip makes the Chippewas 8-2 in their last 10 games. Sophomore outfielder Allison Curtis turned in an impressive five-game performance with seven hits and three RBI and a .412 batting average. Her triple and three-run home run helped propel Central Michigan to a 5-0 victory over Villanova on Friday. She tallied four more hits in Saturday’s two wins over St. Bonaventure and Syracuse and closed the tournament with a hit and a run scored in Sunday’s loss. Her season average is now .311 and she ranks third on the team with 14 hits. Her .706 slugging percentage for the UA Invitational was the second-best on the team.
Jenny Van Geertry, NIU, Outfielder
Sophomore, Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East
A 2-for-2, with a double and home run, four-RBI performance in NIU’s 9-3 victory over in-state rival Southern Illinois highlighted Jenny Van Geertry’s weekend for NIU at the Coach B Classic hosted by SIU. The catalyst for the NIU offense, Van Geertry led the Huskies in RBis with six in five games and in batting with a .333 average. The Huskie sophomore tallied two RBIs in a 2-for-4 game in the Huskies’ 6-1 victory over UIC.
Ashley Rausch, OF, Toledo
Junior, Milford Center, OH/Fairbanks
Ashley Rausch started all five games for Toledo in center and left field and had a strong weekend at the plate at Hawaii’s Kalihini Kipa Aloha tournament. The junior posted a .357 batting average, scored four runs, tallied two RBI and totaled eight bases. She registered a .571 slugging percentage and .474 on-base percentage in the tournament. Rausch was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts over the weekend.
Kelsea Cichocki, Western Michigan, 3B
Senior, McHerny, Ill./McHenry
Western Michigan senior third baseman Kelsea Cichocki batted a team-best .647 over five games this past weekend at USF Under Armour Tournament. Five of her 11 hits were for extra bases and she drove in eight runs. Cichocki had a hit in all five games, extending her current hitting streak to 13 games. Cichocki had a .941 slugging percentage and a .684 on-base percentage. She had at least two hits in four of the five contests and went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in WMU’s victory over Hartford. Cichocki had two RBIs in four of the five games. With the weekend performance, Cichocki’s batting average now stands at .531 on the season.
West Pitchers
Darcie Huber, Ball State, Starting Pitcher
Fr., Greenfield, Ind. (Greenfield Central)
Freshman pitcher Darcie Huber put together arguably the best weekend of her collegiate career, earning a pair of shutout victories and holding opponents to four hits over 11.0 innings of work. In the Cardinals’ win over Hartford to open the USF Under Armour Invitational, Huber surrendered just three hits, while striking out five over 6.0 innings of work. She retired the final eight batters she faced and combined for her first career shutout victory. She followed that performance with an even more dominating effort against Towson, earning her first career complete game shutout. In a 10-0 (5) victory, Huber recorded her second career one-hitter, limiting the Tigers to just a second inning single up the middle, which was just beyond Huber’s reach. In earning her first career complete game shutout, Huber also struck out five batters and retired the final 11 batters she faced.
Alex Frenz, NIU
Sophomore, Oakville, Mo./Oakville
Alex Frenz was dominant for the Huskies as she improved to 5-1 on the season as she was in the circle for both Huskie victories. She posted a 1.21 ERA striking out 14 on the weekend, while allowing 13 hits and 3 walks in 17.1 innings of work.
Kailey Minarchick, Toledo, RHP
Sophomore, Columbia Station, OH/Columbia Station
Sophomore Kailey Minarchick had the best weekend of her sophomore campaign, making an appearance in all five of Toledo’s games and starting three. She was named the Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament’s Most Outstanding Pitcher for collecting two wins and two saves. In 17.1 total innings pitched, Minarchick recorded a 1.05 WHIP. Minarchick’s efforts in the circle helped the Rockets go 4-1 and win the tournament.
