LOUISVILLE, Ky. –Saint Louis’ Gabbie Kowalik and UCF’s Gianna Mancha were selected DI Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week, respectively. The duo were honored for their play during the week of March 8-14.
Kowalik keyed the Billikens to a 4-1 weekend by hitting .700 (7-for-10) with a triple, three home runs and seven RBI. She scored nine times, slugged 1.800 and drew six walks (four intentional) that contributed to her .813 on-base percentage. The New Braunfels, Texas native homered in each of the first three games and was a perfect 3-for-3 (2 R, 3 RBI) in game two versus Western Illinois and 2-for-2 (2 R, 2 RBI) in the first matchup against Loyola Chicago. In the fifth and final game of the weekend, Kowalik was intentionally walked four times and came around to score on three occasions. Starting in leftfield, the junior was flawless defensively, recording nine putouts and throwing out two runners at the plate.
Mancha was lights out over three starts last week, not allowing a run and striking out 30 over 20 innings of work. The senior hurler scattered seven hits and held her opposition to a .106 batting average. In her first start, she twirled a three-hit shutout against then-No. 2 Arizona. Mancha struck out nine Wildcats and held their high-scoring offense (nine runs per game) at bay. She followed that with a two-hit blanking of Florida Atlantic, fanning a career-high 12. In Mancha’s final start, she tossed six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine Owls.
Selected Top Performances
Olivia Lackie, South Alabama – 2-0, 2 SHO, 33 K, 3 BB, 1.17 ERA, .115 opp. BA, no-hitter vs. Appalachian State; Emily Young, Stanford - .727, 3 2B, HR, 8 RBI, 1.273 SLG;, Morgan Day, Illinois State – 2-1, 0.68 ERA, 27 K, 3 BB, 20.2 IP, no-hitter vs. North Dakota State ; Ali DuBois, Boston University – 3-0, 0.42 ERA, 30 K, 4 BB, 16.2 IP; Kelsey Bennett, Virginia Tech – .545 (6-for-11), 4 HR (school-record 3 HR vs. North Carolina State), 9 RBI, 1.636 SLG, .615 OBP; Braxton Burnside, Arkansas - .357, 5 H, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 1.214 SLG, .500 OBP; Ryan Henry, Villanova - .647, 11 H, 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 1.412 SLG, .714 OBP; Nicole Amodio, Boston University - .667, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SB, 3 HPB, .786 OBP, 1.556 SLG; Abby Sweet, Notre Dame - .714 (10-for-14), 3 2B, 2 HR, 2 SB, 4 RBI, 1.357 SLG, .714 OBP; Mekenzie Saban, Saint Francis (Pa.) - .667, 10 H, 8 R, 2 2B, HR, 1.000 SLG, .706 OBP; Gabbie Plain, Washington – 2-0, 0.50 ERA, SHO, 6 H, BB, 27 K, 14 IP; Paige Rauch, Villanova – 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SHO, 7 H, 4 BB, 20 K, .135 opp. BA, 15 IP; Emma Kauf, Georgia Tech - .533 (8-for-15), 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 1.267 SLG; Anna Borgen, Ole Miss – 2-0, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0 R, 9 K, 1 BB, 11 IP.
