STARKVILLE, Miss. – For the second straight week, senior pitcher Molly Rathbun of Eastern Connecticut State has been named the Louisville Slugger Division III National Player of the Week. This award is for games played April 16-22.
The Hebron, Conn., native did not allow an earned run in 25 innings in the team's 6-0 week, striking out 38 batters without a walk and limiting opposing batters to four hits and a .050 batting average. She appeared in five games during the week, throwing shutouts in her three starts and recording four wins and a save in helping the Warriors improve their winning streak to 30.
Offensively on the week, Rathbun also led Eastern with a .545 batting average, a 1.000 slugging average and .706 on-base percentage.
The three-time All-American and Eastern career leader in pitching wins extended her streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 42 2/3, 9 1/3 innings shy of her program record. Rathbun's strikeouts during the week moved her to within four of 1,000 in her career. She is 20-1 (19 straight) with four saves and 205 strikeouts and 13 walks in 127 2/3 innings. She has 10 shutouts in 16 starts.
She currently leads the nation in ERA at 0.33 and is just out of the top 50 in batting average (.465). The Warriors are 31-1 and ranked second nationally in the latest Division III Top 25 poll.