BASEBALL: Tusculum’s Hall, Trevecca’s Lopez recognized with TSWA weekly accolades
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trevecca University’s Javier Lopez and Tusculum University’s Charles Hall were named the Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from March 11-17.
Lopez batted .588 (10-for-17) in four games against Malone University, recording four doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and nine runs scored. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native posted two hits with a double, a homer and two RBIs in the opener and was 3-for-3 with a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored in the second game of the doubleheader.
The senior netted three more hits with a double and two runs scored in the third game of the series and finished with weekend with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored. Lopez is batting .388 this season with five doubles, two home runs, 12 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 18 games.
Hall broke the NCAA Division II single-game record for strikeouts, fanning 22 batters in a complete-game victory against Queens University. The Dumfries, Va., native struck out every Royals batter at least once, including eight of the nine Queens' hitters at least two times each.
The senior righthander recorded two strikeouts in every inning and fanned the side four times, including the first, second, fifth and sixth innings. Sixteen of the strikeouts were swinging while six were looking.
Hall leads the nation with his 88 strikeouts this season and has posted 10 or more batters in six consecutive starts. He broke the national mark previously held by five other pitchers, with the most recent coming on April 1, 1999, when Nate Kosoc of Saint Rose fanned 21 batters against NJIT. Hall's 22-strikeout effort is ranked seventh for all NCAA Divisions.
He surpassed the Tusculum single-game record of 17 strikeouts posted by Placido Torres, who achieved the feat against Stillman University. Hall also bested the South Atlantic Conference record of 19 established by former Wingate University hurler Danny Lampley, who did it twice in the 1998 season.
2019 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 19 – Lake Burris, Bryan College (Player); Trey Holland, University of the South (Pitcher)
March 1 – JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt (Player); Peyton Wigginton, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 6 – Aaron Antonini, Middle Tennessee (Player); Chase Douglas, Trevecca University (Pitcher)
March 13 – Ethan Paul, Vanderbilt (Player); Samuel Joiner, Maryville College (Pitcher)
SOFTBALL: Union’s Kelly, Austin Peay’s Rackel selected for TSWA weekly honors
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Union University’s Kaitlyn Kelley and Austin Peay’s Morgan Rackel received Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from March 11-17.
Kelley batted .500 (8-for-16) in five outings with two doubles, one home run, five runs scored and 10 RBIs for the Bulldogs. The Lexington, Tenn., native drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first game of a doubleheader against Illinois-Springfield and collected a double, a homer, two runs scored and six RBIs in the second game versus UIS, hitting a walk-off grand slam versus the Prairie Stars.
The freshman infielder recorded two hits with two walks, scoring once and driving in a run in the first game of a series against Montevallo and was 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored in the second contest versus the Falcons.
Kelley is batting .453 with 12 doubles, eight home runs, 40 RBIs and 35 runs scored in 31 games this season.
Rackel tallied a 3-0 record with a 0.67 ERA with three complete-game victories for the Govs. The senior allowed one run on three hits with 10 strikeouts in a 4-1 victory against Miami University, with APSU scoring a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
The Calgary, Alberta, native tossed a five-hit shutout in a 5-0 win versus Dayton, her fourth shutout of the season, gave up five hits with one walk and seven strikeouts against the Flyers. She followed that with seven innings in a 5-2 victory versus Michigan State, allowing one earned run on five hits. She walked three and struck out six.
Rackel improved to 11-5 with a 1.15 ERA in 17 appearances in 102.2 innings, striking out 114.
2019 TSWA SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 19 – Abby Fiessinger, Carson-Newman (Player); Brooklin Lee, Belmont (Pitcher)
March 1 – Kay Brokering, King University (Player); Morgan Rackel, Austin Peay (Pitcher)
March 6 – Danielle Liermann, Austin Peay (Player); Alyssa Arden, Tennessee Tech (Pitcher)
March 13 – MaKray Odom, Trevecca University (Player); Katlyn Smith, Maryville College (Pitcher)