STARKVILLE, Miss. – Catcher Kathy Crudo of Winona State and Torie Bunzell of Quincy have been named as the NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games played March 28-April 3, 2011.
Crudo hit .647 last week (11-17) with eight runs, nine RBI, one double, one triple, a stolen base and two walks. She finished the week with a .684 on base percentage and a slugging percentage of 1.176, in addition to not committing an error in 42 total chances.
The Stacy, Minn., native was equally as impressive in the Warriors’ opening weekend of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action. She helped lead Winona to a 4-0 clip in league play on by going 8-for-10 in their first four NSIC games, including a walk-off home run against Minnesota-Crookston.
Crudo is currently batting a team-high .486 and leads Winona in RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with 27, .519, and .833, respectively. After going 6-0 last week, the eighth-ranked Warriors are now 20-3 on the year and have won their last nine games. This week Winona will continue league play when they travel to Upper Iowa for a doubleheader.
Bunzell grabbed her second Pitcher of the Week honor of the 2011 season by being nearly perfect last week. After allowing just one hit in a mid-week game versus Lindenwood, she followed it up by throwing the eighth no-hitter of her career and third perfect game in a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader against Rockhurst.
For the week the Utica, Ill., native gave up just one hit and no runs through 22 innings of work, while allowing just three walks and striking out 46 batters. Bunzell’s perfect game came in the second half of the doubleheader against Rockhurst, a game that went eight innings. In each of her three appearances on the week she struck out at least 13 batters, with a high of 17 coming during her no-hitter against Rockhurst.
After a split with Lincoln on Tuesday, Bunzell is now 15-6 on the year with a 0.76 ERA and a Division II-leading 270 strikeouts. She is currently averaging 12.7 strikeouts per seven innings and is limiting batters to a meager .120 batting average. The Hawks are currently 19-10 overall and 8-4 in the GLVC. This week they will continue league play when they travel to Missouri S&T and Drury for a pair of doubleheaders.
Other Top Performances
Jennifer DeFazio of UC San Diego hit. .579 (11-19) at last week’s Tournament of Champions, driving in six runs and stealing five bases in the process… Bloomsburg’s Shavaun Fisher picked up five wins and a save in six appearances last week while giving up no earned runs and striking out 39… Natalie Adami of Regis (CO) hit for the cycle last week and turned in a .615 batting average in the Rangers’ four-game sweep of Adams State… C.W. Post’s Sarah Kiser allowed just two earned runs last week and struck out 31, allowing her to go 4-0 with two shutouts…
2011 NFCA DII National Player of the Week
Apr. 6 – Kathy Crudo – Winona St. – Jr. – C – Stacy, Minn.
Mar. 30 – Katie Mazure – Massachusetts-Lowell – Burlington, Mass.
Mar. 23 – Jessica McFadden – Barton – Sr. – OF – Wilmington, N.C.
Mar. 16 – Katelyn Lovato – Adams St. – So. – OF – Northglenn, Colo.
Mar. 9 – Kimberly LeComte – West Texas A&M – Jr. – OF – Boerne, Texas
Mar. 2 – Toni Dance – Missouri Western – Sr. – CF – Brisbane, Australia
Feb. 22 – DeeshanaLynn Tafiti – Angelo St. – Jr. – 3B – Kalaheo, Hawai‘i
Feb. 16 – Jaycee Lovato – Adams St. – Sr. – 1B/C – Northglenn, Colo.
2011 NFCA DII National Pitcher of the Week
Apr. 6 – Torie Bunzell – Quincy – Sr. – P – LaSalle, Ill.
Mar. 30 – Emily Estep – Shippensburg – P/DP – Chambersburg, Pa.
Mar. 23 – Jessie Stavola – Dowling – P – Montauk, N.Y.
Mar. 16 – Amber Waracka – Hawai‘i-Hilo – P – Kaneohe, Hawai‘i
Mar. 9 – Kirsten Linert – Grand Canyon – Jr. – P – Phoenix, Ariz.
Mar. 2 – Torie Bunzell – Quincy – Sr. – P – LaSalle, Ill.
Feb. 22 – Jennifer DeMotte – Indianapolis – So. – P/OF – Indianapolis, Ind.
Feb. 16 – Samantha Lipperd – Sonoma St. – So. – P – Boulder Creek, Calif.