LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brenna Walek of the University of St. Thomas and Salisbury University’s Rachel Johnson have been selected as the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
Walek, a sophomore designated player for the (17-5) Tommies, who are ranked 20th in the latest NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll, batted .800 (8-for-10) with two doubles, three home runs and 10 runs batted in during a 3-1 week for her school. She homered in all three plate appearances and drove in all six runs in a 6-0 victory over St. Benedict and went 1-for-3 in the other game of the twinbill, her team’s lone loss for the week.
The Maple Grove, Minn., native combined to go 4-for-4 in a doubleheader sweep of Concordia-Moorhead and has 17 hits and 17 RBI over her current seven-game hit streak, during which Walek has raised her average 150 points to .435.
Johnson, a junior pitcher for the top-ranked (25-1) Sea Gulls, was 4-0 in an 8-0 week for her school with an 0.37 ERA, 39 strikeouts and three walks in 19 innings. She struck out 13 of 15 batters in a perfect game against Southern Virginia and two days later no-hit then-No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan, walking two and hitting one batter.
The Preston, Md., native entered the second game against Virginia Wesleyan in the fifth inning and got a pop out and a strikeout to dodge a two on, one out jam, eventually earning the win in the eight-inning affair. Johnson held opponents to a .050 average for the week. She was previously the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Pitcher of the Week on March 12.
Other Selected Top Performances
Mississippi College junior catcher Tori Bankston hit .588 (10-of-17) with three doubles, a homer and seven RBI in a 4-1 week for the Choctaws. She had two hits and at least one RBI in all five games, plus doubles in three of the five. … Texas-Tyler sophomore pitcher Kelsie Batten went 3-0 for the week with nine strikeouts and one walk over 17 innings while compiling an 0.00 ERA. She tossed a no-hitter (one error from being a perfect game) with seven strikeouts against Texas-Dallas and won the other two games against Texas-Dallas, too, including one in relief. She has now gone 40.1 innings without an earned run and has allowed just one unearned run all season. … Augustana junior outfielder Laura Behnke was 10-for-20 (.500) with two doubles, a triple, five stolen bases, seven runs, three walks and five RBI from the leadoff spot in a 5-1 week for the Vikings. She went 5-for-8 with three runs, a double, triple and four RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Knox. … Western Connecticut State freshman designated player Kylie Boyle hit .667 (8-of-12) with a double, homer and five RBI, including going 3-for-5 as a pinch hitter for the Colonials. … Hamline freshman second baseman Mary-Clare Couillard was 5-for-7 (.714) with a double and two RBI in her first two conference games, a sweep of Augsburg. She had three singles and a double in the second game. … Moravian junior first baseman Jenn Dalickas batted .692 (9-of-13) with a double, three homers, 13 RBI, nine runs and four walks in a 6-0 week for the Hounds, compiling a 1.462 slugging percentage and a .765 on-base average. She went 3-for-4 with a grand slam in a doubleheader sweep at Centenary and 4-for-5 in a sweep of Drew with a homer in each game. … Lebanon Valley senior pitcher Sam Derr had a 4-0 record with a save and a 0.00 ERA for the week, and collected 18 strikeouts and two walks over 23 innings. She pitched two-hitters against Lycoming and Albright. … Salisbury sophomore shortstop Kim Dorsey was 11-for-24 (.458) with four homers, 10 runs, three walks, 14 RBI and an 1.000 slugging percentage in an 8-0 week for the Sea Gulls. She hit three of the homers in consecutive games to become the ninth player in Division III history to do that. Dorsey also sacrificed a runner over in the eighth inning of a scoreless game to set the stage for the next batter to win it against then-No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan. … Brandeis junior center fielder Amanda Genovese hit .467 (7-of-15) with a double, triple, RBI and three steals in three attempts to reach 100 for her career. … Wisconsin-Eau Claire junior first baseman Deanna Gilane was 10-for-17 (.588) with four doubles, a homer, five runs and eight RBI. She went 4-for-4 with three doubles and two RBI in the first of two losses to No. 11 Central. … Gettysburg junior first baseman Emily Hall hit .538 (7-of-13) with two doubles and 10 RBI in a 3-1 week for the Bullets. … Wellesley junior shortstop Emilyrose Havrilla was 15-for-29 (.517) with two doubles, four homers, 10 runs and 15 RBI in a 9-1 week for the Blue. She had seven multi-hit and three multi-RBI games. … East Texas Baptist freshman shortstop Kaitlyn Hollingshead batted .545 (6-of-11) with two doubles and five RBI in a 3-0 week for the Tigers. She had two hits in all three games to extend her hit streak to nine games. … Louisiana College junior catcher Courtney Ivey was 7-for-10 (.700) with a double, two homers and seven RBI in three-game sweep of Howard Payne. … Cortland State senior outfielder Meghan Kohler hit .440 (11-of-25) with two doubles, a triple, three homers, seven RBI and four walks. She went 2-for-2 with three runs and two homers, including the game-ender for the eight-run rule in a conference win over Plattsburgh, and went 3-for-6 in a twinbill against then-No. 22 Ithaca. … Bowdoin junior infielder Adriane Krul was 7-for-11 (.636) with three doubles, a homer, two walks and seven RBI in three game against Trinity (Conn.). She complied a 1.182 slugging percentage and .692 on-base average. … Thiel junior catcher Danielle Massengill hit .609 (14-of-23) with two doubles, two triples, three steals and nine RBI. She was 4-for-5 twice in games during the week. … East Texas Baptist sophomore pitcher Kelly Jo McLendon was 2-0 for the week with a 0.58 ERA and six strikeouts and one walk over 12 innings. She tossed a three-hit shutout and a four-hitter pitching both ends of a doubleheader sweep of Concordia (Texas), allowing one run in the twinbill and retiring the side in order three times in each game. … Linfield junior outfielder Grace Middelstadt was 10-for-19 (.526) with a triple, three walks, four RBI and four steals in four attempts in a 6-0 week for the Wildcats. … Pittsburgh-Bradford senior pitcher Sydney Mosby was 2-0 for the week with 20 strikeouts, two runs and two walks over 13 innings in a 4-0 week for the Panthers. She pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts against Medaille and had a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts against Franciscan. Mosby also helped herself at the plate with an .846 average (11-of-13), five runs, two doubles, a homer and 10 RBI. … Linfield senior pitcher Karina Paavola went 3-0 with a save and a 0.56 ERA, collecting 36 strikeouts while allowing eight hits and two walks over 16 innings. She topped 500 career strikeouts during the week. … Wesleyan (Conn.) sophomore pitcher Su Pardo had two shutouts in a 3-0 week, totaling 32 strikeouts and five walks in 23 innings, while compiling a 0.60 ERA. She recorded 19 strikeouts in a two-hit, 1-0 shutout of St. Joseph (Conn.), a game in which she scored the winning run and had a no-hitter until the seventh. Pardo tossed an one-hit shutout (seven strikeouts) against Hamilton. … Mississippi College junior pitcher Lacie Patterson compiled a 0.00 ERA in a 3-0 week, with five strikeouts and two walks over 15 innings. She pitched a two-hitter and three-hitter against Sul Ross and had a four-hitter against Milsaps. … Eastern Connecticut State junior first baseman Sam Rossetti batted .611 (11-of-18) with three doubles, six runs and 10 RBI in a 3-1 conference week for the Warriors. She went 6-for-8 in a sweep of Keene State. … Western Connecticut State sophomore pitcher Allie Sabith had a 3-0-1 record for the week, plus a save, 1.54 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 27 innings. She allowed four hits in 7.1 innings of relief in a conference sweep of Plymouth State. … Berry sophomore first baseman Shelby Smith was 10-for-15 (.667) with four doubles, two homers, seven runs and seven RBI in four wins over Hendrix. … Central junior third baseman Whitney Sowers hit .579 (11-of-19) with four doubles, two homers, three walks and seven RBI in a 6-0 week for the Dutch. She had three hits in both games against Wisconsin-Eau Claire and homered twice in the second game. … Coe senior pitcher Maddison Woodruff was 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 22 innings, plus seven walks and 10 hits allowed. She recorded 15 strikeouts in a two-hitter against Loras and had a pair of four-hitters against Iowa Wesleyan (13 strikeouts) and Dubuque. … Texas Lutheran sophomore first baseman Taylor Yancey was 10-for-16 (.625) with four doubles, two homers and 13 RBI in 4-0 week for the Bulldogs.
The Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Player and Pitcher of the Week are selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions.
2014 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Player of the Week
Feb. 26 — Ashley Garcia, Linfield College, Sr., 3B, Beaverton, Ore.
March 5 — Maggie Ingell, Washington (Mo.) University, Sr., OF, Winnetka, Ill.
March 12 — Hannah Sendel, Emory University, So., DP, Greenwood Village, Colo.
March 19 — Jessie Richardson, Coast Guard Academy, Jr., C, Kent., Wash.
March 26 — Hanna Contreras, Concordia (Texas) University, Fr., IF, Austin, Texas
April 2 — Megan Light, Emory University, Sr., 1B, Atlanta, Ga.
April 9 — Brenna Walek, University of St. Thomas, So., DP, Maple Grove, Minn.
2014 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 26 — Rebekah Ragsdale, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Sr., P, Orange, Texas
March 5 — Shelby Parker, East Texas Baptist, Sr., P, Brazoria, Texas
March 12 — Rachel Johnson, Salisbury University, Jr., P, Preston, Md.
March 19 — Alex Hill, Montclair State, Sr. P, Parsippany, N.J.
March 26 —Hayley Schultz, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Jr., P, Los Angeles
April 2 — Emily Hardaway, Hardin-Simmons, Fr., P, Midland, Texas
April 9 — Rachel Johnson, Salisbury University, Jr., P, Preston, Md.
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