LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Georgia’s Jayda Kearney and Auburn’s Maddie Penta earned Division I Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week honors. The duo is being recognized for their outstanding play for the week of Feb. 28-March 6.
Over a five-game stretch, Kearney hit .727 (8-for-11) with a triple, four home runs and 12 RBI. She slugged 2.000, drew one walk, did not strikeout in 13 plate appearances, and reached base at a .769 clip. The sophomore outfielder registered her first collegiate two-homer game, launching a pair, including a grand slam against Appalachian State. Kearney matched a career high with four RBI versus Ohio, only to better that mark with six against the Mountaineers.
Penta was the pitcher of record in all six appearances, keying the Tigers to an undefeated week at home. The sophomore hurler posted a 6-0 mark with a 0.28 ERA and 48 strikeouts to four walks over 25 innings of work. She surrendered one run and four hits, holding her opposition to a miniscule .048 batting average. The run she allowed against Chattanooga snapped a 25.2 inning scoreless streak, matching for the fifth longest in program history. Penta was part of one combined no-hitter and another shutout and recorded double digit strikeouts in three of her appearances.
The Division I Player & Pitcher of Week awards are voted on by the NFCA's Division I Top 25 Committee, which consists of one head coach representing each of the 32 NCAA DI Conferences.
Selected Top Performances
Yanni Acuna, Arizona State - .500, 8 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 1.000 SLG; Billie Andrews, Nebraska - .533, 6 HR, 11 RBI, 1.733 SLG; Lexi Cobb, North Texas – .769 (10-for-13), 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB, .824 OBP; Jada Cody, UCF - .444 (8-for-18), 2 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 1.222 SLG, 1.746 OPS; Kara Daley, Missouri - .636, 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1.818 SLG; Peyton Darnel, USC Upstate - .438, 7 H, 3 HR, 4 BB, 11 RBI, 3 R; Hannah Delgado, Oregon - .706, 12 H, 2 2B, 6 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 HBP, .762 OBP; Jordan Fabian, South Carolina - .421, 8 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 12 R, 13 RBI, 1.053 SLG, .560 OBP, 2 SB, 3 BB, 3 HBP; Ally Jones, Villanova - .368, 2B, 4 HR, 5 R, 7 RBI, 1.053 SLG; Kaitlyn Kelley, UT Martin - .444, 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, .833 SLG; Baylee Klingler, Washington - .500, 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1.056 SLG; Lexi Orozco, Oregon State - .667, 4 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1.750 SLG, 6 BB; Cydney Sanders, Auburn - .429, 6 H, 3 HR, 4 R, 8 RBI, 1.071 SLG, .556 OBP; Alexis Soto, Liberty - .529, 3 2B, 3B, 8 RBI, .600 OBP; Shannon Stein, Central Michigan - .421, 8 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI, 1.000 SLG; April Visser, UNLV - .438, 2 2B, 3 HR, 8 R, 7 RBI, BB; Skylar Wallace, Florida - .692, 9 H, 3 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 10 R, 6 SB, 7 BB, 1.615 SLG, .810 OBP; Vallery Wong, Oregon - .529 (9-for-17), 5 HR, 9 RBI, 1.412 SLG; Megan Faraimo, UCLA – 2-0, 1.08 ERA, 25 K, 13 IP, perfect game versus Fresno State, .571, 2B, 2 RBI, .667 OBP; Payton Gottshall, Bowling Green – 2-0, 0.58 ERA, 25 K, BB, .103 opp. BA, perfect game versus Green Bay; Karlie Keeney, Liberty – 3-0, 1.31 ERA, SB, 4 K, .213 opp. BA, no-hitter versus Rutgers; Laurin Krings, Missouri – 2-0, 0.58 ERA, 26 K, BB, 12 IP, perfect game vs. Bradley; Emma Lemley, Virginia Tech – 1-0, SV, 0.88 ERA, 12 K, 0 BB, 8 IP; Sydney Nester, Marshall – 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 31 K, 2 BB, .078 opp. BA, 19 IP, no-hitter vs. Purdue Fort Wayne; Sydney Sickels, Illinois – 2-0, 0.66 ERA, 15 K, 2 BB, 6 H, 10.2 IP; Peyton St. George, Duke – 3-0, 1.47 ERA, 6 H, 3 ER, 16 K, 2 BB, .125 opp. BA; Izzy Vetter, Evansville – 3-0, 0.41 ERA, 32 K, 2 H, ER, 2 no-hitters, .036 opp. BA.
