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It was a week of dominant strikeout pitchers and hitters who were almost impossible to keep off base as we honor the Division I Players of the Week as featured by USA Softball and Louisville Slugger/NFCA
Here are this week’s honorees for the week of Feb. 25-Mar. 3, 2019…
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Amber Fiser, Teaghan Cowles, Brigette Nordberg Garner 2019 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I weekly honors
Minnesota’s Amber Fiser has been selected as the Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division I National Pitcher of the Week, while Stanford’s Teaghan Cowles and North Carolina State’s Brigette Nordberg shared the Player of the Week honors for games played Feb. 25-March 3.
Fiser
Fiser was 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 21 innings of work. She surrendered just two runs, one earned and held her opposition to a .129 batting average. The junior from Van Horne, Iowa fanned 12 and walked two in a one-hit shutout of Drake.
In her second start against the Bulldogs, Fiser struck out 13 and allowed a run in a three-hit complete-game effort. She capped off the week with a complete-game win over then-No. 19 James Madison. Fiser fanned the first eight Dukes of the game and finished with 12 for the contest.
Cowles
Cowles, who hails from Ridgefield, Wash., was a tough out over the weekend. Reaching base safely in 16 of 18 plate appearances, she hit .818 with a .889 on-base percentage and slugged 1.455.
Cowles recorded a pair of triples, a home run, two RBI and 11 runs scored. Against Montana, the junior outfielder went 3-for-3 with four runs scored, a double, homer and two RBI. Cowles scored four more times, drew three walks (two intentional) and was 2-for-2 versus Cal Poly.
Nordberg
Nordberg had a monstrous week at the dish, clubbing eight home runs, driving in 19 runs and slugging 2.323. She hit .750 with 12 hits, 13 runs scored, 37 total bases and an .826 on-base percentage.
On Feb. 25, Nordberg left the yard three times against Murray State and launched two more on Feb. 27 at Charlotte, driving in six runs in each contest. The Exton, Pa. native was the first NCSU player to hit five homers over a two-game stretch and the second to record three in a game. Nordberg hit two more, registered four RBI and scored three times versus Campbell.
2019 Honorees (Player /Pitcher)
- Mar. 5: Teaghan Cowles, Stanford & Brigette Nordbert, North Carolina State / Amber Fiser, Minnesota
- Feb. 26: Cali Harrod, Florida State /Giselle Juarez, Oklahoma
- Feb. 19: Tristen Edwards, Nebraska / Keely Rochard, Virginia Tech
- Feb. 12: Caitlyn Nolan, Virginia Tech / Kelly Barnhill, Florida
Selected Top Performances
Jessie Harper, Arizona – .350, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 1.100 SLG, .409 OBP, walk-off HR vs. JMU, GW HR vs. Minnesota; Meghan Beaubien, Michigan – 2-0 vs. top 5 teams, 1.50 ERA, 3 R, 9 H, 4 BB, 8 K, 14 IP; Marissa Guimbarda, Furman- .522, 6 HR, 12 RBI, 1.302 SLG; Sierra Lange, George Washington- 4-1, 1.09 ERA, 30 K, 2 SHO, .444, 3 2B, HR, 4 RBI, .778 SLG, .500 OBP; Kylan Becker, Ole Miss- .647, 2B, 3B, HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 5-6 SB, .684 OBP, 1.000 SLG; Christina Biggerstaff, USC Upstate- 3-0, 0.28 ERA, 28 K, 1 R, 10 H, 4 BB, 25 IP; Rachel Garcia, UCLA- 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 BB, 14 K, , .069 opp. BA, 10 vs. Florida; Kennedy Sullivan, Western Kentucky- 3-0, 1.31 ERA, no-hitter vs. Evansville (17 K), 31 K, 7 BB, .158 opp. BA; Devin Wallace, North Carolina State- 3-0, 0.74 ERA, SHO, 23 K, 2 BB, 19 IP; Lauren Buchanan, Colorado State- .571, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1.571 SLG; Mary Haff, Arkansas- 4-0, SV, 0.62 ERA, 34 K, 1 BB, 22.2 IP; Kyana Mason, Missouri State- .688, 11 H, 2 HR, 8 R, 7 RBI, 1.188 SLG; Jenny Behan, Purdue- .529, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, .600 OBP, 1.176 SLG; Caroline Hedgcock, Wisconsin- .429, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .929 SLG; Taran Alvelo, Washington- 1-1, 1.56 ERA, 12 H, 33 K, SHO, .179 opp. BA, 18 IP; Tara Trainer, Indiana– 3-1, 0.26 ERA, 2 SHO, 1 ER, 31 K, .188 opp. BA, 27 IP.
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Michigan’s Meghan Beaubien claims Player of the Week honors with two wins over Top-10 ranked opponents
After leading the Michigan Wolverines in the circle during the Judi Garman Classic, pitcher Meghan Beaubien (Newport, Mich.) has claimed Week 4 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week honors.
Announced today by USA Softball, Beaubien helped guide the Wolverines to victories over No. 2 UCLA and No. 6 Washington, resulting in the team breaking into national polls at No. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.
“I was a little off to start in the UCLA game,” said Beaubien. “But then I really focused on just trying to treat it like I was in the bullpen, just one pitch at a time and throwing them like I know how. I was able to start doing that and really focus on one at a time.”
Beaubien contributed to Michigan’s biggest win of the 2019 season as the Wolverines notched a 3-1 win over No. 2 UCLA in their first game of the Judi Garman Classic.
Handing the Bruins their first loss of the season, Beaubien pitched a complete game and allowed just one run off three hits. She struck out three and allowed only four total base runners, including two over the last six innings.
“I think the team kept good energy all weekend,” continued Beaubien. “We truly believed that we were going to get it done and at some point, during the game, we were going to get the runs across. I think us having that faith and having that confidence allowed us to actually get it done. We just kept fighting.”
Despite Saturday’s cancellations, Beaubien returned to the circle in the final day of the tournament and went the full seven innings in a 4-2 victory over No. 6 Washington. Against the Huskies, Beaubien allowed just two runs off six hits and four walks, while striking out five.
“It was a total team effort to have that kind of weekend in Fullerton,” said Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchison. “We just need our pitching to do its part, and Meghan did her part. We got better as a team, and I think we’re making some good strides. Now consistency is the key.”
For the week, Beaubien posted a 1.50 ERA with eight strikeouts and four walks. This is the first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week honor for Beaubien and the first for an athlete from Michigan since the 2016 season.
2019 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
- Week 1 (Feb. 7-10): Kassidy Wilbur – Stephen F. Austin – Freshman – Pitcher – Bridge City, Texas
- Week 2 (Feb. 11-17): Zoe Casas – Florida State – Senior – Outfield – Rialto, Calif.
- Co-Week 3 (Feb. 18-24): Danielle Gibson – Arkansas – Sophomore – Infield – Murrieta, Calif.
- Co-Week 3 (Feb. 18-24): Andrea Scali – Kent State – RS Freshman – Pitcher – Parma, Ohio
- Week 4 (Feb. 25-March 3): Meghan Beaubien — Michigan — Sophomore — Newport, Mich.