LOUISVILLE, Ky. – UIC’s Kayla Wedl and UCLA’s Rachel Garcia were named Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division I National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games played April 9-15.
Wedl is coming off a tremendous week at the plate, batting .667 (12-for-18), with three doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI. The sophomore from Wauconda, Ill., slugged 1.500, posted a .727 on-base percentage, scored six runs and drew four walks.
Wedl launched three homers and knocked in seven against IUPUI. Two of her long balls, four RBI came and three runs scored came in game two. In a three-game sweep of Northern Kentucky, Wedl was a tough out, hitting .800 (8-for-10), driving in 11 runs and recording an .846 on-base percentage. She went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI in game one and followed that with a grand slam and six RBI in game two.
Along with her prowess in the circle, Garcia used her bat to help the third-ranked Bruins sweep Arizona on the road in Tucson. She was 2-0 with a 1.24 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 11.1 innings of work. Garcia was also 6-for-7 at the plate with three home runs and seven RBI. She drew five walks (three intentional), registered a .917 on-base percentage and slugged a whopping 2.286.
In game one, she went 2-for-2 with her first collegiate two-homer game and three RBI. The red-shirt sophomore hurler struck out five in four innings of relief. She added three innings of one-hit, six strikeout relief work to earn the game-two victory. In the series finale, Garcia fanned nine Wildcats and allowed just two hits over 4.1 inning of shutout relief to earn the win. At the plate, the Palmdale Calif. native launched a first-inning three-run long ball and was walked three times, twice intentionally.
Player & Pitcher of the Week
April 17 – Kayla Wedl, UIC | Rachel Garcia, UCLA
April 10 – Sydney Sherrill, Florida State | Miranda Elish, Oregon
April 3 – Marisa Stankiewicz, Arizona State | Emily Watson, Tulsa
March 27 – Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma | G Juarez, Arizona State
March 20 – Madison Gott, Columbia | Jacquelyn Sertic, North Dakota State
March 13 – Lexi Rouse, Belmont | Alexis Osorio, Alabama / Carley Hoover, LSU
March 6 – Faith Canfield, Michigan | Gabbie Plain, Washington
Feb. 27 - Rachel Garcia, UCLA | Kelly Barnhill, Florida
Feb. 20 – Tori Vidales, Texas A&M | Kylee Hanson, Florida State
Feb. 13 – Vanessa Shippy, Oklahoma State | Missy Zoch, DePaul
Selected Top Performances
Paige Rauch, Fordham - .667, 4 H,3 HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB, .833 OBP, 2.500 SLG, 1-0, 1 H, SHO, 1 BB, 5 K; Missy Nunes, Oregon State- .889, 8 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 H, 1.778 SLG, .909 OBP, 0 K; Kelly Barnhill, Florida- 2-0, 0.50 ERA, 2H, 1 R, 21 K, .045 opp BA; Brielle Pietrafesa, Hofstra- .600, 9 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 7 R; Kristi DiMeo, Drexel- .400, 10 H, 3 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI; Manda Cash, Dayton- 3-0, 0.35 ERA, SHO, 18 K, 20 IP; Kirtlyn Bohling, Weber State- 2-0 0.00 ERA, 23 K, 2 CG, 15.2 IP; Gretchen Bowie, St. John’s- .571, 3 HR, 3B, 8 RBI, 5 R, 1.357 SLG; Nicole Newman, Drake- 1-0, 0.00 ERA, no-hitter with 18 Ks vs. Valparaiso; Caroline Smith, Campbell- .692, 9 H, 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 8 R, 1.615 SLG, .706 OBP; Amber Fiser, Minnesota- 2-0, 0.00 ERA, CG, 10 K, 1 BB, 7 H, 14 IP; Katie Duncan, Harvard- 2-0, SV, 0.00 ERA, 8 K, .179 opp BA; Vanessa Shippy, Oklahoma State- .579, 11 H, 2 2B, 6 R, .600 OBP, 5 multi-hit games.
