Monday, March 23, 2009

MACON, Ga. - Preseason All-Conference catcher, Ashley Battaglia slammed a pair of doubles in UNF's win against conference favorite FGCU, to earn Player of the Week. Jenni Holtz completed won all four of Mercer's games to earn Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced Monday.

Battaglia, a criminal justice major hit .571 to go along with a 1.286 slugging percentage to lead the Lady Ospreys to a 3-1 week in conference play. The Hollywood, Fla., native had a pair of home runs on the week to go along with four doubles, five RBI and five runs. The senior started the week with five hits in a doubleheader sweep of ETSU, and drove in the game-winning run against the Lady Bucs in the 10th inning of the nightcap. She continued her hot hitting against FGCU in the first game of a doubleheader, reaching base four times, while slugging out a pair of doubles and knocking out a home run in a UNF win. After the weekend, she ranks second in conference standings with 12 doubles.

Holtz went 4-0 on the week, including two complete-game, one hit shutout victories. The Tracy, Calif. native fanned 34 hitters and allowed just six hits over 22 innings pitched. Against Georgia State, Holtz started game one and allowed just one hit while striking out 12 Panthers. In the night cap, Holtz entered the game in the sixth inning and held Georgia State to just one hit over four innings, giving Mercer its first a sweep over the in-state rival since 2005.

In Mercer's conference opener against Kennesaw State, Holtz fanned 19 batters over 11 innings of work to help the Bears improve to 2-0 in the A-Sun for the first time since 2006. Over the past week, the sophomore racked up 34 strikeouts and allowed just six hits over 22 innings pitched. Holtz leads the conference with 15 wins on the season, and has not allowed a run in her last 39 innings pitched. She ranks third in opposing batting average at .187 and in strikeouts with 135.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers
Erica Demers, Stetson (P - Miami, Fla. - Sr. - Communications Studies) -- Demers did not allow a run in the final 22 innings she pitched this week and did not allow an earned run all week - she is up to 31.1 innings with no earned runs against. She concluded the week with consecutive two-hit shutouts against Houston Baptist and A-Sun rival Jacksonville. The win against JU was the 75th of her career and made her just the third pitcher in A-Sun history to reach that milestone.

Devyn Findley, UNF (P - Gainesville, Fla. - Jr. - Community Health) -- Devyn Findley had another strong week for the Lady Ospreys in the pitching circle, going 2-1 with a pair of conference wins ... Findley compiled a 1.19 ERA in three appearances, surrednering three earned runs, while striking out 13 in 17.2 innings of work ... Findley began the week with a complete-game shutout of ETSU then went on to beat preseason A-Sun favorite FGCU, limiting the Eagles to two runs ... Findley allowed seven walks on the week and only three extra base hits.

Whitney Kiihnl, Lipscomb (P - Batesville, Miss. - Fr. - Biology) -- Pitched five scoreless innings for no decision in 5-1 loss to Auburn and shut out Bradley 6-0 for her third shutout of the season and the ninth overall for the Lady Bisons.

Amy Joyce, Stetson (CF - Lake Mary, Fla. - Jr. - Psychology) -- The speedy sparkplug at the top of Stetson's lineup, Joyce was the catalyst for the Hatter offense in a 5-1 week that included a win over three-time defending NEC champions Long Island University as well as an A-Sun opening doubleheader sweep at Jacksonville. Joyce reached base 62 percent of the time by hit or walk and nearly doubled her season steals total in the course of a week, robbing nine bases and scoring five runs. She also threw a runner out at the plate to save a shutout win over Houston Baptist on Thursday.

Brittany Stanley, Campbell (P - West Lafayette, Ind. - Jr. - Business) -- The junior went 2-0 on the week with both wins coming in conference play. In the win against USC Upstate, the junior threw all eight innings in a complete game 1-0 shutout.Stanley only surrendered a total of five base runners (three hits and two walks) in a dominate performance and outdueling the conference's top hurler, Morgan Childers.the complete game was able to extend her scoreless inning streak to 27.1. The junior then came back and won the first game of the doubleheader versus ETSU going seven innings and only surrendering two runs.Stanley was able to extend the scoreless streak to 30 before the Lady Bucs pushed a run across with two outs in the third inning.she was also able to hit two home runs on the week.in conference games on the year Stanley is 4-0 with 0.52 ERA.