LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Illinois Wesleyan’s Ally Wiegand and East Texas Baptist’s Daniella Solis earned the first Division III Wilson/NFCA Pitcher and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week honors for the 2020 season on Wednesday.
Wiegand, the reigning Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Pitcher of the Year, tossed a perfect game in a 4-0 victory over Illinois College in her 2020 debut. The senior from Downs, Ill., fanned 19 of the 21 batters she faced, to best her own school record for strikeouts in a game by two. The other two outs in the contest were fly balls to the outfield.
Solis has started her season similarly strong, hitting three homers and collecting five RBI in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of Howard Payne last Friday. The Baytown, Texas, product had two hits in the first game, and doubled in the third game of the American Southwest Conference series on Sunday to cap a week in which she hit .600 (6-for-10), with three runs scored, two doubles, seven RBI and no strikeouts. Through seven games, Solis is hitting .542, with five doubles and four homers.
Other Top Performances
Washington College (Md.) freshman pitcher Avery Byrnes pitched a two-hitter in her collegiate debut. … Illinois Wesleyan sophomore catcher Hayley Earl batted .600 (3-for-5) with two doubles, a homer and five RBI, while also catching a perfect game and recording 27 putouts over two games. … Kean junior shortstop Gabriella Fredette collected 10 hits, six runs and four RBI over four games, batting .714 and playing flawless defense up the middle. … Redlands freshman pitcher Madeline Gonzalez struck out 17 over four appearances, collecting two wins and a save. … Wisconsin-Oshkosh sophomore third baseman Ana Iliopoulos had five hits and eight RBI, including the go-ahead double, in a season-opening sweep. … Salisbury sophomore right fielder Jillian Jones has gotten on base in all seven of her team’s games, and hit .609 last week, with 14 hits, 11 runs, four doubles, a homer and six RBI. … East Texas Baptist sophomore pitcher Beatriz Lara fanned 10 and allowed just two hits over 10 innings in a 1-0 win, and struck out seven in a three-hit shutout in her other victory last week. … Birmingham-Southern senior utility player Bailey Murphy was 2-for-3 with two RBI and pitched a complete game in a victory over then-No. 2 Emory, and hit .700 for the week. … Rhodes senior utility player Shannon Tierney was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in a 9-0 win over Defiance, and hit .692 (9-for-13) for the week.
Winners are selected by the NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee, which has a representative for each of the eight NCAA regions.
2020 Wilson/NFCA Division III National Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 26 — Ally Wiegand, Illinois Wesleyan University, Sr., RHP, Downs, Ill.
2020 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Player of the Week
Feb. 26 — Daniella Solis, East Texas Baptist University, Jr., Utility, Baytown, Texas
