Monday, March 29, 2010

MACON, Ga. – Kennesaw State’s Ashlee Burkett earned A-Sun Softball Player of the Week accolades after leading the offensive charge for the Owls, while Mercer’s Jenni Holtz recorded her fifth A-Sun Softball Pitcher of the Week honor after tossing the second no-hitter of her career in extra innings.

Burkett tallied her first A-Sun player of the week award after a great week at the plate in which she combined to go 6-for-14 with two home runs and three RBIs in four games. The Warner Robins, Ga. native’s best performance came Tuesday against Jacksonville State when she went 3-for-4 with two home runs and two RBIs. Burkett has now hit safely in 14 of her last 16 games. The freshman ranks second on the Owls in batting average with .359.

On Saturday, Holtz pitched three extra frames for her second-career no-hitter against defending A-Sun Champion Campbell. The Tracy, Calif. native made three appearances in the past week, starting with a two-hit complete game victory against Furman Thursday. In her second appearance, she came in for relief work and secured her first save of the season in two innings of work in game two against the Paladins. It marked the first time in her career that she had a win and a save in the same day. Saturday, Holtz threw 132 pitches in the 10-inning no-hitter against the Camels.

For the week, the junior’s ERA stands at 0.70 for over 20 innings pitched in three total appearances. Holtz gave up just three total hits and only three runs, two earned. In the 20 innings of work, the business major struck out 28 batters, including 12 strikeouts in her start against Furman, four in the two innings of relief and 12 against Campbell. The two double-digit strikeout performances marked Holtz’s 10th and 11th of the season. The pitcher ranks second in the conference in strikeouts with 206.

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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
Morgan Childers, USC Upstate (Jr. - P - Kings Mountain, N.C. - Secondary Education) – Childers had a strong week, finishing 4-1 in five appearances in six games. In the sweep of Furman, the junior pitcher posted two wins and tallied 23 strikeouts in the double dip. Childers earned both wins in the sweep of Belmont to open A-Sun play, striking out 11 in the first game. Childers, secondary education major, struck out 12 in the second game, a complete game and tossed 13.1 of 14 innings in the doubleheader. The Kings Mountain, N.C. native’s only loss came at Lipscomb.

Jessica Cross, Kennesaw State (So. - P - Tunnel Hill, Ga.) – Cross posted two more stellar pitching performances this week as she shut out Campbell Friday, 8-0, in five innings in the first game of Kennesaw State’s doubleheader, allowing just three hits and striking out four to help the Owls to their first A-Sun victory of 2010. The sophomore pitcher also held in-state rival Georgia State to just one run on three hits in KSU’s 6-1 victory Wednesday. Cross also provided two-thirds of an inning of scoreless relief in Kennesaw State’s second game of its doubleheader against Campbell. The Tunnel Hill, Ga. native’s 1.12 ERA ranks fourth in the A-Sun, and her nine wins on the season stands sixth best in the conference.

Devyn Findley, UNF (Sr. - P - Alachua, Fla. - Community Health/Exercise Science) – Over the week, Findley went 3-0 with wins against Georgia Southern and FGCU, tallying a 1.19 ERA. Against the FGCU Eagles, Findley surrendered one run on six hits, fanning 11 in the first game over seven innings. Then in the second game, Findley entered in relief, tossing 3.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits to pick up the win and help the Ospreys with their fifth consecutive win.

Whitney Kiihnl, Lipscomb (So. - P - Batesville, Miss. - Biology) – Kiihnl stood two outs short of her second perfect game of the season when an infield error marred the effort against ETSU Friday. The sophomore biology major held on for the no-hitter, her fourth, and the shutout, 5-0. In a duel with USC Upstate’s Morgan Childers Saturday, Kiihnl prevailed 4-0, for her seventh shutout of the season and her eighth complete game.

Brittany Stanley, Campbell (Sr. - P - West Lafayette, Ind. - Business Administration) – Stanley went 2-0 on the week with a 1.02 ERA and set two Campbell career records on the week. The senior pitcher’s first win on the week against Kennesaw State marked the 61st of her career and moved her to the top spot on the CU career list. Stanley's second win on the week, a 2-0 shutout of Mercer, tallied her second shutout of the season and 20th in her career for the top of Campbell’s career lists. On the week, Stanley went 2-0 in 20.2 innings thrown. The business administration major had two complete games and only allowed 15 hits and one walk.