MVC Softball Weekly Release (PDF)
MVC Player of the Week
Kyana Mason, 3B, Sr., Independence, Mo. - Missouri State
MSU’s leadoff hitter batted .688 and slugged 1.188 over five games, collected 11 hits, 8 runs, 7 RBI and a pair of home runs to help the Bears to a 5-0 week and championship at the UCA Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic. Over the last four games of the tournament, she was 11-for-14 (.786) with multiple hits in each game. Her two-run homer in the tournament finale against UCA tied the championship game, and later her two-run triple in the eighth helped win the title for Missouri State. She also went 2-for-2 vs. ULM, 3-for-3 vs. Coppin, 3-for-4 vs. SEMO and finished 3-for-5 in the finals against UCA with 4 RBI.
MVC Pitcher of the Week
Morgan Day, RHP, Soph., Tuscola, Illinois - Illinois State
Morgan Day went 2-1 at LSU’s Purple & Gold Challenge this weekend, opening the five-game set with her first complete game shutout of the season in a 6-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin. Day went the distance in Illinois State’s upset of nationally-ranked Indiana on Saturday afternoon, as the Redbirds’ win over the Hoosiers marked the fourth victory over a ranked opponent by a Valley team this season and first shutout of a top 25 team. The sophomore tossed a season-high seven strikeouts to hand the Hoosiers just their second loss of the season. Day returned to the circle on Sunday to face Indiana once again, as Illinois State held the Hoosiers to their second fewest runs in a shutout this season behind the right-hander’s six strikeout performance. Finishing the weekend with an impressive 0.66 ERA, Day lowered her season ERA by 2.25, while holding her opponents to a .127 batting average at the tournament. She also recorded 18 strikeouts on the weekend – half of her season total of 36.
MVC Newcomer of the Week
Payton Minnis, 2B, Fr., Blue Springs, Mo. - Missouri State
Minnis hit an incredible .727 over the weekend to help lead the Bears to the championship at the UCA Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic. She went 8-for-11 at the plate with 5 RBI and a perfect 4-for-4 stolen bases. She produced multiple hits over her last three games -- all starts -- including a 3-for-4 game against Coppin State with 2 runs, 3 RBI and a double. She later went 2-for-3 against SEMO with 2 runs scored before helping send MSU to the title with a 2-for-3 day in the championship game. She had a run, 2 stolen bases and a sac bunt vs. to help lead the Bears to a comeback victory in the finals and 5-0 week.
Other notable performances:
PLAYERS
Gabby Stoner - Bradley
Stoner hit a team-best .455 in seven games last week, going 10-for-22 with four doubles, six runs and two RBI. She also drew four walks and boasted a .538 on base percentage in addition to boasting a team-best .636 slugging percentage. Stoner had hits in six of seven games and had three multi-hit outings. She went 1-for-3 with a double and one run against Virginia Monday and followed it up with a 1-for-3 effort with a double against Louisville later that day. A .415 hitter on the year, she opened Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., with a 2-for-4 outing with a run in a 12-3 win over Purdue. Stoner drew three walks and scored a run in a 12-4 victory over South Alabama later in the day. In a rematch with Purdue, she went 1-for-3 with a double, one run and one RBI. In an extra inning victory over South Alabama Saturday, Stoner was 2-for-4 and capped the week by going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and RBI in a win over Savannah State.
Katie McLean - Evansville
Katie McLean hit an unbelievable .714 with an on-base percentage of .778 as the Aces played in the Samford Tournament over the weekend. She had five hits in seven at-bats with three of her hits being doubles. She scored three times and drew two walks while slugging 1.143. McLean was a perfect 3-3 in stolen base attempts. After an 0-1 game against WKU on Friday, McLean went 2-3 with a run against Houston Baptist. Her top game was a 3-3 performance in Saturday’s win over Samford as she was 3-3 with a walk and a pair of runs scored.
Shannon Felde - Illinois State
Shannon Felde led the Redbirds at the plate this weekend at LSU’s Purple & Gold Challenge, batting .333 with a team-high five hits, including a double, two RBI, a run and two walks to take six total bases on the weekend. She registered a pair of hits in Illinois State’s upset of nationally-ranked Indiana to set the tone at the plate in the Redbirds’ 3-0 shutout. Felde was the lone Redbird to register a hit in ISU’s 6-2 setback to No. 9 LSU on Saturday night, as the senior also drew a walk and was not struck out. She continued her hitting streak in the tournament finale and second game against Indiana, going 1-for-3 versus the Hoosiers with her double.
Leslie Sims - Indiana State
Leslie Sims hit .500 in three games against Power 5 opponents and extended her streak to 99 consecutive games without being caught stealing. The junior drew one walk and scored one run for the Sycamores.
Allyson Ivey - Loyola
Ivey slashed .400/.438/1.067 in her four games played this weekend. In collecting hits in all four games, the first baseman extended her hitting streak to six games. The sophomore led the Ramblers in slugging percentage (1.067), total bases (16), hits (6), RBI (6) and runs scored (5). She’s also homered in each of her last three games, becoming the first Rambler to do so since 2015.
Sammey Bunch - UNI
Sammey Bunch had an insane contribution to the UNI offense this past weekend in Oklahoma, as the junior infielder tallied six hits and scored seven runs to ignite the Panthers’ offense. Bunch collected three extra-base hits, including a home run and four RBIs. Bunch slugged (.917) to pair with her three walks and one HBP, as she reached base at a phenomenal (.625) clip. Bunch also stole three bags, and fielded her position at shortstop pristinely, as she did not have an error in 20 fielding opportunities on Friday and Saturday. Bunch came around to score at least twice, in three different games, including three runs scored in a win over Tulsa.
Jenny Jansen - Southern Illinois
Jenny Jansen hit .600 (6-for-10) with two runs scored, three extra base hits, and 3 RBI. Jansen notched multiple hits in all three of SIU’s games last week, which included a 2-for-4 day at the plate against No. 17 Kentucky in which she hit a two-run home run that tied the game at 5-all in the top of the seventh inning. The Warrenton, Mo. native went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI to open the Coach B Classic against Murray State, and again went 2-for-3 with a run scored in SIU’s 10-0 five-inning win over St. Louis. She closed out the weekend with a double, a home run, a run scored and two RBI against No. 17 Kentucky. The 2018 All-MVC Second Team selection has now tallied multiple hits in eight of SIU’s 16 games this season.
Morgan Matalin - Valparaiso
Matalin hit at a .500 clip and slugged .700 as Valpo went 3-1 last weekend at Charlotte’s Green and White Invitational. The junior both delivered with runners on base, driving in four runs, and set the table for the top of the order out of the nine spot in the order. Matalin’s biggest hit came in Valpo’s closest win of the weekend, as with Valpo holding on to a 1-run lead in the 6th inning against College of Charleston, the junior connected for a 2-run double - her second two-bagger of the game - to give the Crusaders some crucial insurance.
PITCHERS
Grace French - Bradley
French boasted a miniscule 0.95 ERA in two appearances at the Citrus Classic and held hitters to a .281 batting average. In her first outing of the week, she struck out a season-high seven batters in a win over South Alabama. French scattered five hits and gave up just one run in the 5.0 innings of work against the Jaguars out of the bullpen to earn the victory. She also came out of the bullpen in Saturday’s game against Purdue, where the Boilermakers took advantage of Bradley errors for three unearned runs in her 2.1 innings.
Emily Lockhart - Evansville
Evansville senior Emily Lockhart pitched seven innings without allowing an earned run while picking up a win over Samford. In three innings of work against Western Kentucky, Lockhart did not allow an earned run and struck out three. She picked up the win on Saturday against the Bulldogs, pitching four scoreless innings of relief. Lockhart gave up just two hits and struck out four.
Kiley Jones - Loyola
Jones threw 14.1 innings throughout two starts and registered a 1.95 earned run average. Her 7.1 innings pitched against Sam Houston State set a new season high for an outing. The righty set a career high with 12 strikeouts in the Ramblers’ weekend-opening victory over UT-Martin, marking her first double-digit whiff performance since 2017. Jones posted a K/7 of 6.84 over the weekend.
Steffany Dickerson - Missouri State
Dickerson went 3-0 in the circle with a 2.23 ERA and 14 strikeouts to help the Bears to a championship finish at the UCA Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic. She struck out 8 and allowed just 2 earned runs and 4 hits in her first start to help MSU defeat ULM. Dickerson followed that with a 6.2-inning effort in the Bears’ win over SEMO and capped the weekend by going 4.0 innings in relief in the championship game against UCA, allowing no earned runs and just 2 hits in the win. She also batted .533 (8-for-15) on the weekend with 3 doubles, 2 homers and 6 RBI. She racked up 3 RBI with a homer run vs. UAPB on a 2-for-3 game, and then went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI vs. SEMO with a double and a home run.
Brianna Jones - Southern Illinois
Brianna Jones threw the fourth perfect game in Saluki history, and the eighth perfect game in the NCAA this season, in SIU’s 10-0 five-inning win over St. Louis. It marked the second no-hitter of Jones’ career and her first perfect game. The three-time All-MVC first team selection threw 11.2 innings over the weekend and allowed just nine hits and four earned runs while striking out four. In addition to posting her eighth win in the circle this season against St. Louis, Jones was the tough luck loser against the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats. Jones came on in the third inning and held the Wildcats to five hits- all singles - and gave up just one run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh that gave Kentucky the win.
Kelsie Packard - Valparaiso
Packard tossed the 11th no-hitter in program history against Wagner in Valpo’s tournament opener at the Green and White Invitational. The game was suspended March 1 after three innings and resumed nearly 48 hours later on March 3, when Packard closed out the final two innings for her first no-no in a Valpo uniform. In between, on the 2nd, Packard pitched 2.1 innings of shutout relief in a win over College of Charleston, striking out five, to pick up a save, and then threw a 2-hitter against host Charlotte for her seventh career shutout at Valpo. The junior had a stretch of 22 consecutive shutout innings, which was snapped in the tournament finale against Wagner.
NEWCOMERS
Lucy Mead - Bradley
Mead hit .400 (8-for-20) with two doubles, five runs and five RBI in seven games last week. She also drew six walks and owned a .538 on base percentage to go with a .500 slugging percentage. Mead had three multi-hit games and collected hits in six of seven games. She was 1-for-3 in Monday’s game against Virginia. In a 12-3 win over Purdue, Mead went 2-for-2 with two walks, two doubles, one run and four RBI. She returned later that day to draw two more walks in a win over South Alabama in which she was 1-for-3 with a RBI. Mead scored a run in Saturday’s rematch with Purdue and helped highlight Saturday’s win vs. South Alabama by going 2-for-3 with a run and a walk. In the final game of the Citrus Classic, she went 2-for-3 with walk, stolen base and two runs scored in a win over Savannah State.
Katie McLean - Evansville
Katie McLean hit an unbelievable .714 with an on-base percentage of .778 as the Aces played in the Samford Tournament over the weekend. She had five hits in seven at-bats with three of her hits being doubles. She scored three times and drew two walks while slugging 1.143. McLean was a perfect 3-3 in stolen base attempts. After an 0-1 game against WKU on Friday, McLean went 2-3 with a run against Houston Baptist. Her top game was a 3-3 performance in Saturday’s win over Samford as she was 3-3 with a walk and a pair of runs scored.
Jessica Shields - Loyola
Shields put together another solid weekend at the top of the order with a 5-for-14 weekend (.357 average) and picking up another three seals. The stolen bases put her at 20 for the year, already becoming the first Rambler since 2011 to hit 20 in a season. Shields also doubled and recorded six total bases to boost her .867 OPS throughout her four starts.
Hannah Kelley - UNI
A two-way threat, Kelley tallied three hits in 10 at bats for the Panthers, while also scoring a run and driving in three Panthers. Kelley walked three times, to reach base at a clip of (.462) in the four games this past weekend. Kelley also struck out three batters and pitched 8.2 innings while picking up the sole pitching victory of the weekend for UNI.
Ashley Wood - Southern Illinois
Ashley Wood continued her hot start to her freshman season at the Coach B Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Wood hit .300 (3-of-10) with a 1.200 slugging percentage. The Orland Park, Ill. native tallied three home runs, five runs scored, seven RBI and a stolen base. Wood became just the ninth Saluki freshman to go yard twice in the same game in SIU’s 10-0 five-inning win over St. Louis, which included Wood’s first career grand slam. She followed with her third home run of the weekend against No. 17 Kentucky, and added two RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base. The first-year shortstop is now tied atop the MVC leaderboard for home runs by a freshman (4) and leads all Valley freshmen in slugging percentage (.733), runs batted in (15) and total bases (33).
Taylor Herschbach - Valparaiso
Herschbach led Valpo last weekend at Charlotte’s Green and White Invitational with a .545 batting average and scored a team-best five runs on the weekend as Valpo went 3-1 at the tournament. The freshman picked up hits and scored runs in all four games, highlighted by a 2-for-2, 2-run, 1-RBI effort in the tournament opener against Wagner.