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It was a week of great pitching and record-setting home run blasts 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. 18-24, 2019…
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Andrea Scali and Danielle Gibson share USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week Honors
A historic weekend at the plate and a pair of wins over a Top 25 ranked opponent have landed USA Softball Collegiate Co-Player of the Week honors for Arkansas’ Danielle Gibson (Murrieta, Calif.) and Kent State’s Andrea Scali (Parma, Ohio).
Gibson made history as the first NCAA Division I softball player to hit for the home run cycle while Scali recorded two victories over then-No. 22 Baylor.
Gibson, a sophomore infielder for the Razorbacks, started her history-making week at the Razorback Invitational with a 3-for-4 outing and a pair of RBI against Southeast Missouri. Gibson made her mark on Arkansas softball, batting a perfect 4-for-4, including four home runs and 10 RBI against SIU-Edwardsville before closing out the tournament with a 1-for-2 and two RBI showing against IUPUI.
💪 @RazorbackSB's Danielle Gibson hit the HOME RUN CYCLE on Saturday. 💪
(No one in MLB history has ever done that.) pic.twitter.com/iMrdTQm2NI
— espnW (@espnW) February 24, 2019
“I couldn’t have done this without my teammates,” said Gibson. “For them to have quality at-bats and hit well, I have to give them credit, I owe all this to them. I’m still in shock of all that is happening and that I was able to achieve something like this, I’m just speechless. I know that I’m a good hitter, so when I stepped into that box in the first inning, I told myself just to go out there, swing like Danielle Gibson and hit like I know I can. Our hitting coach told me to stay true to who I was as a hitter and I did just that.”
For the week, Gibson compiled a .429 batting average, nine hits, seven runs and 15 RBI.
“What a well-deserved honor for Danielle to be named USA Softball Collegiate Co-Player of the Week,” said Arkansas Head Coach, Courtney Deifel. “She’s been great for us offensively all year but what she was able to do this past weekend at Bogle is something we will never forget. For Danielle to hit four consecutive homeruns would be a tremendous feat in itself but then to consider that it was for the cycle, an accomplishment that only happened once and never in consecutive innings is incredibly special. It was awesome that her teammates set the table for her. What a cool moment for Danielle and for this program.”
In addition to earning her first Southeastern Conference (SEC) Co-Player of the Week honors, this marks the first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week accolade for Gibson and the first for a Razorback since the 2017 season.
Scali continued a stellar freshman campaign as she collected a pair of wins in the circle against Baylor. Entering the Baylor Invitational without allowing an earned run this season, Scali issued a one-hitter while fanning 12 North Texas batters in a complete game, 6-0 shutout win. She continued to dominate in her second shutout win of the weekend with a 1-0 victory with Baylor. Striking out 11 batters, it marked the first win for the Golden Flashes over a ranked opponent since 2015. In her final outing, Scali entered in relief and earned the win as Kent State defeated Baylor 6-5 in extra innings.
“It was a great weekend for us as a team, and I feel honored to receive an award like this. My teammates in the field played great defense and the offense provided run support and gave me confidence to help us win,” said Scali. “I also want to give a shout out to catcher Carlee Selle for doing a great job behind the plate all weekend.”
For the week, Scali struck out 26 batters and compiled a 0.78 ERA with three wins. Earning her second Mid-American Conference (MAC) Pitcher of the Week honor, this is the first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week title for Scali and the first for a player from Kent State since the 2018 season.
“What a great honor for Andrea and for our program,” said Kent State Head Coach, Eric Oakley. “Andrea is an excellent pitcher. She and Carlee did a great job this weekend and Coach Johnson (pitching coach Emma Johnson) called great games. I know Andrea was boosted by solid run support from her teammates as well. We are proud of her. She is not only an exceptional athlete, but a quality person and a dedicated teammate. What a great start to her career!”
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
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FSU’s Cali Harrod, Oklahoma’s Giselle Juarez garner 2019 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I weekly honors
Florida State’s Cali Harrod and Oklahoma’s Giselle Juarez earned 2019 Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division I National Player and Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 18-24.
Harrod reached base in 17 of her 21 plate appearances and scored twice in each of No. 1 Florida State’s six victories last week.
The senior from Ephesus, Ga. hit .714 (10-for-14) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, eight RBI and 12 runs scored. Harrod slugged 1.429, drew seven walks, which attributed to her .810 on-base percentage and did not strikeout.
She reached base safely in her first 10 plate appearances of the week, recorded an extra-base hit in five of the six games and was 5-for-5 on the base paths.
Juarez, a native of Glendale, Ariz., was dominant in her three appearances last week posting a 2-0 mark and 0.49 ERA. She fanned 29, walked one and held her opposition to a 0.087 batting average in 14.1 innings of work.
The sophomore southpaw struck out 14 in six shutout innings against BYU and followed that with a 11 strikeouts in a complete-game victory over then-No. 14 Arizona. She held the Cougars and Wildcats to two hits apiece. In her final appearance, Juarez fanned all four Cal State Fullerton batters she faced.
2019 Honorees (Player /Pitcher)
- 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
Rachel Garcia, UCLA: 2-0, 1.08 ERA, 19 K, 3 BB, 6 H, .133 opp BA; Danielle Gibson, Arkansas: .429, 9 H, 7 R, 15 RBI; homered for the cycle (10 RBI) in four at bat versus SIUE; Gabbie Plain, Washington: 5 APP/1 GS, 3-0, SV, 6 H, 0 R, 28 K, 0 BB, 0 XBH, 16 IP, .111 opp. BA; Tara Trainer, Indiana: 4-0, 0.28 ERA, 37 K, SHO, 24 IP, combined no-hitter; Alyssa Oakes, USC Upstate: 2 GP/2 GS, .833, 5 H, 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 R, 2.167 SLG; Summer Grzybek, Columbia: .467, 4 HR, 6 R, 5 RBI, 1.267 SLG; Julia DiMartino, Liberty: 3 APP, 1 GS, retired all 26 batters she faced last weekend, 8.2 IP, 11 K, perfect game versus Princeton (11 K, 5 IP); Andrea Scali, Kent State: 3 APP, 2 GS, 3-0, 0.78 ERA, 26 K, 5 BB, 18 IP, .133 opp. BA; Maddy Dwyer, Stanford: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, SV 13.2 IP; Kailyn Packard, Kansas City: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 20 K, 12.2 IP, 2 H; Kristi DeMeo, Drexel: .556 (10-for-18), 4 HR, 13 RBI; Brooklyn Daly, Drexel: 3-0, perfect game versus Cornell (4 K, 6 IP); Sarah Gonzalez, Bowling Green: .412, 7 H, 5 2B, grand slam, .882 SLG, 7 RBI, 4 R; Brooke Yanez, UC Davis: 3-0, 0.37 ERA, 2 R, ER, SHO, 29 K, 5 BB, 19 IP, .162 opp. BA; Bella Loya, Illinois: .667, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1.400 SLG, .688 OBP; Kaitlyn Coffman, Ohio State: .538, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .571 OBP, 1.077 SLG; Kelly Barnhill, Florida: 3-0, SHO, 0 R, 22 K, 15.2 IP, .148 opp. BA; Jana Johns, South Carolina: .909 (10-for-11), 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 9 R, 10 RBI, 1.909 SLG, .923 OBP; Nicole Newman, Drake: 2-0, SV, 1.29 ERA, 22 K, 14 IP; Lindsey Stewart, Houston: .526, 2 3B, HR, 12 RBI.