BASEBALL: Middle Tennessee’s Christian, Maryville’s Davis honored with TSWA weekly accolades
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee’s Myles Christian and Maryville College’s Jordan Davis were named the Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from April 1-7.
Christian batted .500 (11-for-22) in four games for the Blue Raiders, posting two doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs and nine runs scored. The Olive Branch, Miss., native collected two hits and scored a run in a mid-week contest versus Murray State.
The sophomore outfielder belted three home runs, including a solo homer in the second inning, a two-run shot in the fifth and a grand slam in the eighth, in the first game of a series against Western Kentucky. He doubled, drove in two runs and scored another in the second game versus the Hilltoppers and finished the second with a 4-for-5 effort with a double and three runs scored.
Christian is batting .234 with six doubles, seven homers, 22 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 31 games this season.
Davis tossed a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts against William Peace University in a 3-0 Maryville win to open a three-game conference series. The Maryville, Tenn., native allowed just four hits and walked three, retiring 10-of-11 batters before the Pacers got a single and two walks in the fifth.
The junior righthander struck out Jonathan Rhew to end the inning. Davis allowed just three baserunners over the final four innings to finish the shutout, upping his record to 2-3 with 53 strikeouts in 53.1 innings this 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)
March 21 – Javier Lopez, Trevecca University (Player); Charles Hall, Tusculum University (Pitcher)
March 26 – Stephen Scott, Vanderbilt (Player); Drake Fellows, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 3 – JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt (Player); Mason Hickman, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
SOFTBALL: Carson-Newman’s Fiessinger, Bryan’s Dunn selected for TSWA weekly honors
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman’s Abby Fiessinger and Bryan College’s Lindsey Dunn received Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from April 1-7.
Fiessinger batted .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles, two homers, 11 RBIs and four runs scored in four games for the Eagles. The Benton, Ky., native collected three hits with a double and two RBIs in the first of two games with Tusculum University and added an RBI double and a grand slam, scoring three times in the second contest against the Pioneers.
The junior infielder hit a three-run homer in the third inning and posted a sacrifice fly in the first of two games versus Lenoir-Rhye. Fiessinger doubled and walked in the second contest with the Bears. She is batting .438 with 14 doubles, six home runs, 25 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 27 games this season.
Dunn tossed two no-hitters and allowed just seven hits and three runs in 16.0 innings of work for the Lions. The Tennga, Ga., native gave up three runs on seven hits in a 3-1 loss to 23rd-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan.
The junior righthander did not allow a hit, walking three and striking out two in a five-inning no-hitter against Bluefield College. She followed that with a five-inning no-hitter versus Hiwassee College, walking one.
Dunn improved to 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 21.1 innings this season, allowing 18 hits with four strikeouts.
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)
March 21 – Kaitlyn Kelley, Union University (Player); Morgan Rackel, Austin Peay (Pitcher)
March 26 –Baylee Sutton, Tennessee Wesleyan (Player); Casey Gilbert, King University (Pitcher)
April 3 – Tana Whited, Trevecca University (Player); Savannah Carr, Trevecca University (Pitcher)