STARKVILLE, Miss. – Pitcher Blaire Luna of Texas has been named as the NFCA Division I National Player of the Week for games played from March 14-20, 2011.

Luna recorded a scoreless week by going 3-0 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., and in a single game at Long Beach State. She allowed no runs, earned or unearned, off of just five hits while giving up only four walks and striking out 30. For the week, opponents only managed to hit a measly 0.26 off of Luna at the dish.

The Austin native struck out at least nine batters in each of her three appearances last week and never allowed more than four hits in any one game. The highlight of the week for Luna came on the first day of the Judi Garman when she recorded the first perfect game of her career against then fourth-ranked Washington. She held a Washington team hitless that entered the game sporting a healthy team batting average of .406.

The sophomore is currently 14-2 on the year with a 0.96 ERA and 160 strikeouts. This marks the second-time in Luna’s career she has earned the NFCA’s weekly honor, having been selected for the award on April 6 of last year as a freshman

After taking home the Judi Garman title via a five game sweep, the eighth-ranked Longhorns will return home this week for four games. Texas, currently 24-3 on the year, will host a non-conference doubleheader with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday, before opening the Big XII portion of it schedule against Kansas this weekend.

Other Top Performances

BYU’s Paige Aflleck recorded three wins over ranked teams on the week while allowing just three earned runs… Stephanie Medina of South Florida went 9-for-11 on the week while driving in 10 runs and scoring three herself… Jacksonville State’s Abby Stepp led the Gamecocks to a 5-0 week by hitting .786 with 12 RBI and three home runs… Kelsey Bruder of Florida was perfect at the plate on three occasions and drove in six RBI in a game vs. Mississippi State…

NFCA DI National Player of the Week

Mar. 22 – Blaire Luna – Texas – So. – P – Austin, Texas
Mar. 15 – Kelly Hmiel – Pittsburgh – Jr. – 3B – York, Pa.

Mar. 8 – Chelsea Thomas – Missouri – So. – P – Pleasantville, Iowa

Mar. 1 – Lori Spignola – North Carolina – Fr. – P – Atlanta, Ga.

Feb. 22 – Stephanie Brombacher – Florida – Sr. – P – Pembroke Pine, Fla.

Feb. 15 – Gabrielle Bridges – La-Lafayette – Sr. – 1B – Lafitte, La.