DENVER ?“ New Mexico State?™s Mailei Hilva and Fresno State?™s Robin Mackin have been named the Western Athletic Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Hilva is the second Aggie to be honored, while Mackin is the first Bulldog to win the award.
Hilva, a senior from Riverside, Calif., doubled her career total with four home runs this week, including three in the doubleheader sweep of UTEP on Tuesday. She hit two homers in the opener, including the game-winning two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth, and a game-tying three-run home run in the first inning of the nightcap. Hilva hit .364 on the week as part of a strong Aggie offense that batted .344 as a team over seven games.
Mackin, a freshman from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, lowered her ERA to 1.78 on the year, while going 2-2 with three starts and three complete games. In 25.1 innings, she had a 0.83 ERA against Pacific and No. 2 UCLA. Averaging 8.1 strikeouts per 7/IP, she struck out 29 and walked six, while allowing three runs, two earned. Mackin recorded her first collegiate shutout over Pacific in the Bulldogs?™ 2-0 home win. In that game she tossed a three-hitter and struck out 11 for her third-consecutive 10-strikeout game. In the night cap, she struck out four in 2.2 innings of work to improve to 4-1 on the season. At second-ranked UCLA, Mackin allowed three runs, walked six and struck out 14 in 15.2 innings. In the second game against the Bruins she pitched scoreless ball all the way through 9.2 innings of play before allowing the winning run to come in on a hit by pitch.
Other player of the week nominees included: Haley Perkins of Fresno State hit .286 with four hits and one RBI in four games … Brandi Peiler of Hawai'i had 10 hits and two home runs as the Rainbow Wahine went 3-4 … Regan Clark of Louisiana Tech had 12 hits as the Lady Techsters went 4-3... Candice Rainwater of Nevada hit .571 in two games last week with four hits ...Quela Leonhardt of Utah State hit .312 with five hits and two RBI in five games.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Krissi Oliver of Louisiana Tech had a 0.53 ERA and went 1-1 … Jordan McPherson of Nevada went 1-0 with five strikeouts and one complete game against North Dakota State … Sarah Seagraves of New Mexico State went 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA in six appearances … Heather Straight of Utah State went 1-1 as the Aggies started the season 1-5.