Washington University in St. Louis sophomore pitcher Laurel Sagartz has been named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III Player of the Week for the week Mar. 28-Apr. 3. The honor marks the second straight week a Bear player has received the award, as Liz Swary claimed Player of the Week status last week.
Sagartz helped her team, ranked second in the latest NFCA Division III Top 25 poll with a 27-1 record, to a 6-0 mark behind not only her dominance in the circle, but her stellar offensive production as well. At the plate she hit at a .375 clip (6-for-16) with a pair of RBIs and four runs scored.
The Albuquerque, N.M., native went 4-0 pitching, allowing just five hits with 41 strikeouts in 21 scoreless innings of work. In the team’s 8-0 win over MacMurray, she struck out 14 of the 15 batters she faced in the one-hit shutout.
The following day Sagartz went six innings in the opening game of a doubleheader against Millikin, allowing three hits while registering 10 strikeouts. She returned to the circle in the second game of the doubleheader, striking out all five hitters she faced in an inning and two-thirds of relief action. In that second game of the twin bill she went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and a run scored.
On the season Sagartz has compiled a 12-1 record that includes nine complete games. She has given up just 11 earned runs and allowed just 23 walks to 111 strikeouts in 84 and two-thirds innings. Offensively she is tallying a .351 average that includes six doubles, a pair of home runs, 23 RBIs and 21 runs scored.
Photo courtesy of Mary Butkus, WUSTL Photo Services
