MVC Softball Weekly Release (PDF)
MVC Player of the Week
Sammey Bunch, Jr. Shortstop, Frankenstein, Missouri - UNI
The junior shortstop scored four runs on five hits over the weekend at Murray State’s racer Classic. Bunch made the most of her eight at bats, knocking in three runs and blasting a home run in the Panthers win over Murray State on Sunday. Bunch went 2-3 at the plate against Purdue Fort Wayne and stole a base in the Panthers first game on the weekend. Bunch backed it up going 3-5 with 3 RBIs and a home run against Murray State on Sunday night.
MVC Pitcher of the Week
Kelsie Packard; R-Jr.; Beloit, Wis. - Valparaiso
Packard was nearly flawless last week in picking up a pair of victories for Valpo over teams with top-100 RPIs last season, posting a 0.47 ERA in 15 innings of work while striking out 15 and allowing opponents to hit just .137 against her. She entered with two on and nobody out in the third inning of Valpo’s eventual win over NC State and escaped the jam without a run scoring. Packard would go the remainder of the way against a Wolfpack team which entered the game scoring better than five runs/game and leading the nation in home runs/game, throwing five shutout innings, striking out six and giving up just three hits. Then, at Lipscomb, Packard pitched a career-high 10 innings and gave up just one run on four hits while striking out nine. Notably, the junior pitched three innings of international tiebreak softball without surrendering a run, allowing Valpo to pick up the win in 10 innings.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Mack Leonard, Fr., P/1B, Normal, Illinois - Illinois State
Freshman Mack Leonard paced the Redbirds this weekend in ISU’s final pre-conference tournament of the season, commanding the batter’s box and the pitcher’s circle. The rookie turned in an impressive .438 batting average, going 7-for-16 with three runs scored, a double, two RBI and a team-high eight total bases. She also turned in a .500 slugging percentage and .526 on base percentage, to go with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. In the circle, Leonard tossed her first complete game for her first career win as a Redbird, guiding ISU to a 6-2 victory over tournament host Florida Atlantic, holding the Owls scoreless through the first six innings. She posted a team-best 2.17 ERA in two appearances, pitching 9.2 innings of work while allowing just three runs and striking out six.
Other notable performances:
PLAYERS
Kealia Wysocki - Bradley
After missing five games due to injury, Wysocki returned to the Bradley lineup to go 4-for-5 at the plate with a double, one run and two RBI in a doubleheader sweep at Tennessee Tech. In her first outing since the injury, she came off the bench in the seventh inning to collect a hit in her only at bat in the contest as the Braves rallied for a 7-6 victory. In the nightcap, Wysocki was 3-for-4 with a double, a run and two driven in. She gave Bradley a 1-0 lead with a RBI double in the second inning and led off the fourth with a single. In the first of her two at bats in a 10-run fifth inning, Wysocki reached on an error and scored before delivering a RBI single to cap the scoring in an 11-1 Bradley win.
Jenny Jansen - Southern Illinois
Jenny Jansen hit .625 (5-for-8) with a double, a stolen base, 2 runs scored and 3 RBI as SIU split at its rain-shortened home invitational. Jansen went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored against Miami (OH) to open play at the Saluki Invitational. In the win over Butler, Jansen went 3-for-4 with a run scored, a stolen base and 3 RBI. The Warrenton, Mo. native has now tallied multiple hits in five-straight games and in 10 of Southern’s 18 games this season.
Carly Trepanier - Valparaiso
Trepanier reached safely in all three of Valpo’s wins last week, reaching base at a .455 clip and slugging a team-high .750. Against NC State, Trepanier sparked Valpo’s four-run inning that proved to be decisive in the 4-0 win, driving in the first run with an RBI single and scoring later in the inning. She started the scoring at Lipscomb with a home run in her first at-bat, and scored the game-winning run in extra innings. Against Buffalo, she delivered an insurance run with a sac fly that was robbed from being a home run. Trepanier has now reached base in 12 consecutive games for Valpo.
PITCHERS
Megan Mahaffy - Bradley
Mahaffy picked up the win in the first game of Bradley’s doubleheader sweep at Tennessee Tech, coming out of the bullpen to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings. Mahaffy, who earned her team-best third win of the season entered the game with Bradley trailing 6-2 in the fourth with one out and a runner on third. She got out of the inning without allowing the runner to cross and surrendered just three hits in her 3.2 innings of work. Mahaffy gave up a one-out single in the fifth and leadoff singles in both the sixth and seventh, but never allowed a runner to reach second base in either of her three full innings. She struck out one and walked none in the win.
Izzy Vetter - Evansville
UE pitcher Izzy Vetter picked up two victories for the Aces over the weekend. She tossed 8 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on eight hits while striking out seven batters. On Saturday against Siena, Vetters made the start and went 4 1/3 frames and allowed four runs on seven hits on her way to the win. In Sunday’s second game against ETSU, Vetters threw the final four innings of a 2-1 victory. She allowed just one hit while fanning three while winning her second game of the weekend.
Brianna Jones - Southern Illinois
Brianna Jones threw her second perfect game in eight days to highlight a pair of starts at the rain-shortened Saluki Invitational. Jones needed just 57 pitches to set down all 15 batters she faced in SIU’s 16-0 five inning win over the Butler Bulldogs. The three-time All-MVC first team selection struck out three to record the fifth perfect game in program history and, in doing so, became the first Saluki to ever throw two perfect games in a single-season as well as in a career. She is also the only pitcher in NCAA Division I this season to have thrown two perfect games.
NEWCOMERS
Lucy Mead - Bradley
Mead accounted for one-third of Bradley’s 18 runs in a doubleheader sweep at Tennessee Tech, going 3-for-6 with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored. She also drew a pair of walks and stole a base in the two games. Mead opened the doubleheader with a solo home run to leadoff the top of the first. She was 3-for-4 in the opener at Tennessee Tech, delivering a base hit in the fifth and drove in a pair with a 2-run single in the sixth in a 7-6 Bradley victory. In the nightcap, she led off the top of the fifth of a tie game with a walk and would later score the go-ahead run. She came up to bat again during a 10-run inning for the Braves to draw another walk, steal a base and score as Bradley came away with an 11-1 victory. The solo homer to open the day was the third of the year for the BU leadoff hitter.
Izzy Vetter - Evansville
UE pitcher Izzy Vetter picked up two victories for the Aces over the weekend. She tossed 8 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on eight hits while striking out seven batters. On Saturday against Siena, Vetters made the start and went 4 1/3 frames and allowed four runs on seven hits on her way to the win. In Sunday’s second game against ETSU, Vetters threw the final four innings of a 2-1 victory. She allowed just one hit while fanning three while winning her second game of the weekend.
Ashley Wood - Southern Illinois
Ashley Wood hit .500 (4-for-8) with 3 runs scored, 3 RBI and a stolen base as SIU split at its rain-shortened home invitational. Wood went 2-for-4 with a run scored and 2 RBI against Miami (OH) to open play at the Saluki Invitational. In the win over Butler, the freshman shortstop went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a RBI and a stolen base. The Orland Park, Ill. native has seven multi-hit games on the season already and has recorded a hit in four-straight games. She leads all Missouri Valley Conference freshmen in batting average (.377), slugging percentage (.698), runs batted in (18), and is tied for the lead in home runs (4).
Jenna Edwards - Valparaiso
Edwards had her longest effort of the year in the circle for the Crusaders as they closed the weekend with a win over Buffalo. Edwards entered against the Bulls with the bases loaded and one out, and got the next two outs in order to keep Buffalo off the board. She then pitched the rest of the game, not allowing any Bulls runners to advance past second base in the final five innings. Not only was her 5.2 innings a season-long appearance, Edwards also struck out a season-best six batters and gave up just two hits in earning her second win in a Valpo uniform.