College players of the week recognized - April 16

April 16, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lipscomb freshman Jacob Tobias had a big week as he helped lead the Bisons to a series win over North Florida, using strong offensive production to garner this week’s Tennessee Sports Writers Association Baseball Player of the Week honor.

Tobias, an outfielder from Birmingham, batted 7-for-16 on the week, collecting 13 total RBI – including seven in Saturday’s victory over the Ospreys. Tobias batted 3-for-6 in the game as he drove in one with a ground out to short in the third, a grand slam in the sixth, then had a two-run single in the seventh in Lipscomb’s 21-7 victory.

On the hill, Tennessee Tech pitcher Landon Smiddy earned the Pitcher of the Week award as he threw the Golden Eagles’ first nine-inning, complete-game shutout since 2018 as Tech blanked Ohio Valley Conference foe Lindenwood.

The senior from Knoxville struck out 10 batters while allowing three hits and five walks, working his way out of a couple of mid-game jams before going into cruise control. He allowed one hit to the Lions from the second out in the first inning until the leadoff batter in the eighth.

On the softball side, Belmont sophomore shortstop Nicole Hughes made an impact in the three-game set as she collected eight hits and three runs in only 10 at-bats for an .800 clip. The big game came Sunday as she went 4-for-4 with a triple, a double and two runs scored. She ended the weekend with an .833 on-base mark and a 1.100 slugging percentage.

In the circle, Lane College sophomore pitcher Jersey Cabana was fantastic this week as she threw three complete game shutouts on the week for a flawless 0.00 earned run average. She allowed nine hits and walked one while striking out 17. Her opponents hit .155 against her for the week. Cabana improved to 15-4 on the season.

BASEBALL
2/20 | Player: John Bay (Austin Peay); Pitcher: Peyton Calitri (Tennessee Tech)
2/27 | Player: Hayden Gilliland (Tennessee Tech); Pitcher: Andrew Devine (Austin Peay)
3/5 | Player: Camden Kozeal (Vanderbilt); Pitcher: Will Pryor (Belmont)
3/12 | Player: Tanner Shiver (Tennessee Tech); Pitcher: Devin Futrell (Vanderbilt)
3/19 | Player: Harrison Travis (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Noah Toney (Union)
3/26 | Player: Cam Suto (Lee); Pitcher: Chandler Alderman (Middle Tennessee)
4/2 | Player: Dylan Dreiling (Tennessee); Pitcher: Bryce Cunningham (Vanderbilt)
4/9 | Player: Brody Szako (Austin Peay); Pitcher: Peyton Calitri (Tennessee Tech)
4/16 | Player: Jacob Tobias (Lipscomb); Pitcher: Landon Smiddy (Tennessee Tech)

SOFTBALL
2/20 | Player: Olivia Lipari (Chattanooga); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
2/27 | Player: Zoey Neal (Union); Pitcher: Lainey Baker (Union)
3/5 | Player: Hayden Dye (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Taylor Long (Chattanooga)
3/12 | Player: Brooke Matyasovsky (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
3/19 | Player: Kendall Andrews (Trevecca); Pitcher: Caitlyn Manus (Tennessee State)
3/26 | Player: Kendall Andrews (Trevecca); Pitcher: Taylor Long (Chattanooga)
4/2 | Player: Kailey Snell (Chattanooga); Pitcher: Lainey Baker (Union)
4/9 | Player: Sydney McCormick (Trevecca); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
4/16 | Player: Nicole Hughes (Belmont); Pitcher: Jersey Cabana (Lane College)

TSWA announces college players of the week - April 9

April 10, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay senior infielder Brody Szako was knocking them out of the park this week as the Bellville, Texas, native slammed four home runs this past week, helping earn him this week’s Tennessee Sports Writers Association Baseball Player of the Week honor.

Szako hit homers in back-to-back at-bats at Evansville, then hit one in each of the Governors’ victories against Bellamine. He also had the walk-off single to seal a second run-rule victory over the Knights for the Atlantic Sun series win.

For the week, Szako batted .471 with eight hit in 17 at-bats. He also had nine total RBI for the week with a 1.235 slugging percentage and a .474 on-base mark. Szako won the ASUN player of the week honor.

On the hill, Tennessee Tech hurler Peyton Calitri took the mound facing one of the top offenses in the Division I in Morehead State and put the Golden Eagles on his back as he delivered a dominant outing to earn the TSWA’s Pitcher of the Week award.

The Collierville, Tenn., native threw eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk, striking out 10 Morehead batters en route to his fifth win of the season. All three hits were singles and one batter reached second in the outing.

In softball, both honors went to Trevecca as senior first baseman Sydney McCormick and junior pitcher Ashlan Sensing helped the Trojans go 4-0 last week, improving to 14-2 in Great Midwest play.

McCormick, from Watertown, Tenn., hit .545 (6-for-11) on the week with a double and two home runs. She drove in five and scored four runs. She ended the week with a 1.182 slugging percentage and a .615 on-base mark.

Sensing, from Dickson, Tenn., went 2-0 for the week, collecting a perfect 0.00 ERA. She struck out 16 batters in 12 innings of work with two complete games and a shutout. Sensing walked just one batter across the 12 frames, allowing only four hits as her opponents hit .100 against her.

College players of the week named by TSWA - April 2

April 2, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee sophomore outfielder Dylan Dreiling had a big week at the plate as he helped lead the Volunteers to a series win over No. 22 Georgia, leading to a selection as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Baseball Player of the Week.

In all, the Hays, Kan., native hit .545 on the week with six hits in 11 at-bats, collecting five of those for extra bases with three doubles and two home runs. He also had two walks, seven RBI and came home to score five times. Dreiling was also 1-for-1 on stolen bases.

In Saturday’s 16-11 win over the Bulldogs, he hit a three-run home run and a grand slam for his first multi-homer game and a career-high seven RBI, helping the Vols erase a four-run deficit in the fifth inning. He had three base hits, a walk, and two runs scored in Sunday’s 7-0 win to take the series.

On the bump, the pitching award stayed in the Southeastern Conference as Vanderbilt junior righty Bryce Cunningham recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts on Friday night in a victory over Missouri. Cunningham yielded just three baserunners on the night over seven scoreless innings in a one-hit effort on the way to his fourth win of the season.

The junior from Headland, Ala., threw 99 pitches in the game as he allowed the base hit in the third inning. He improved to 4-1 on the season.

On the softball diamond, East Tennessee State could not find a way to retire Chattanooga shortstop Kailey Snell as the Shelbyville product batted an astonishing .900 at the plate for the week as the leadoff, helping lead the Mocs to a sweep over the Bucs. She drove in three and scored six times, while also stealing four bases.

In the opener, Snell went 3-for-4, then 3-for-3 in game two and 3-for-3 in the finale.

In the circle, Union sophomore pitcher Lainey Baker threw a complete game shutout in the Bulldogs’ 3-0 victory over Henderson State for her eighth victory of the season. The Cartersville, Ga., struck out seven and allowed just one hit in the contest.

Baker was five outs away from a perfect game after retiring 16 straight, but hit a batter in the bottom of the sixth, then allowed a lead-off single in the bottom of the seventh.

TSWA honors college players of the week - March 26

March 26, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lee University first baseman Cam Suto had a tremendous week as he helped lead the Flames to a 4-0 performance on the week and his offensive numbers made him a great choice as this week’s Tennessee Sports Writers Association Baseball Player of the Week.

The junior from Marietta, Ga., batted .476 on the week as he was 10-for-21 at the plate, collecting a massive 16 RBI tally with 13 runs scored. In Lee’s seven-inning, 28-10 victory over Christian Brothers, Suto was 4-for-6 with nine RBI – including a grand slam and a three-run home run – and six runs scored.

Suto also went 4-for-6 in the opener with six RBI and four runs scored. For the week, he had one triple, four home runs and was 5-for-5 on stolen bases.

On the bump, Middle Tennessee freshman lefty Chandler Alderman was named the Pitcher of the Week after throwing an eight-inning no-hitter on Saturday in a 10-0 victory over Liberty.

The Poplar Grove, Ill., product struck out 11 in his second career start, recording just the fourth no-no in Blue Raider history and the first in 20 years. He is the second freshman and third pitcher to throw a solo no-hitter in program history.

On the softball diamond, Trevecca’s Kendall Andrews repeated as Softball Player of the Week as the senior from Murfreesboro continued to dazzle, hitting .643 on the week, going 9-for-14 at the plate. She scored 13 runs, while also hitting three home runs and one double to collect 10 RBI. Andrews also drew nine walks and was a perfect 9-for-9 on stolen bases.

In the circle, Chattanooga sophomore Taylor Long earned the Pitcher of the Week honor after she picked up a pair of victories and her first save of the season. Over 13 2/3 innings of work, the Calhoun, Ga., native recorded a 1.02 ERA and struck out 21 batters.

In relief against Jacksonville State, Long struck out nine Gamecock batters in 3 2/3 innings of work to claim the victory, then pitched a complete game, striking out nine to top Samford in the Mocs’ conference opener. She earned the save as she locked down the final three outs in the ninth inning against the Bulldogs with one on and no one out, whiffing the last batter.

College players of the week recognized - March 19

March 19, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman’s Harrison Travis and Union’s Noah Toney came away with the baseball honors, while Trevecca’s Kendall Andrews and Tennessee State’s Caitlyn Manus won the softball awards on Tuesday as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association selected its weekly College Athletes of the Week.

Travis, a graduate student from Soddy Daisy, hit five home runs during the Eagles’ weekend series against Emory & Henry as he batted .615 for the week and had a .722 on-base percentage. He hit three home runs as he went 3-for-3 at the plate in the series opener, becoming the first Carson-Newman player in the program’s recorded history to accomplish the feat.

He finished the week driving in seven runs.

On the hill, Toney, a sophomore righty from Florence, Ala., threw a complete game shutout against Shorter University as he went all nine frames, scattering three hits and striking out three. He threw 102 pitches in the 1-0 victory to take the series two games to one.

On the softball diamond, Andrews, a senior catcher from Murfreesboro, batted .571 for the week, collecting a 1.143 slugging percentage as she went 8-for-14 at the plate with three doubles, a triple and a home run. Andrews drove in four runs, while she also swiped three bases on four tries. She helped Trevecca go 3-1 on the road in the opening weekend of Great Midwest action.

In the circle, Manus, a junior from Murfreesboro, had a terrific week as she went 4-0 against Ohio Valley Conference competition, posting a 1.40 earned run average across 20 innings of work with two complete-game victories. She struck out 22 against three walks. She threw a four-hit complete game win over Morehead State with 10 strikeouts, then swept Lindenwood. She allowed one run on two hits in the series opener, claimed the victory in relief in game two, then completed the sweep with a five-inning effort in the finale.