DENVER ?“ Nevada?™s Brittany Puzey and Fresno State?™s Robin Mackin have been named the Western Athletic Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Puzey is the first Wolf Pack to be honored, while Mackin is earning her second-straight honor.
Puzey, a freshman from Carson City, Nev., helped Nevada win the University of San Diego Tournament going 3-1 over the weekend. During the tournament and in doubleheaders against Sacramento State and Cal State Northridge, Puzey hit .414, scoring five runs with 12 hits and 14 RBI. In the tournament alone, she had 10 RBI in 14 at-bats. The freshman led the Wolf Pack in its second win of the tournament over UC Riverside in a 10-0 rout of the Highlanders with six RBI, including a grand-slam home run in a five-run fourth inning to put Nevada up 7-0. She is currently third on the team in batting percentage with a .340 with 16 hits and 17 RBI on the year.
Mackin, a freshman from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, averaged an impressive 12.1 strikeouts per 7/IP, while going 4-1. Throwing three shutout victories, she set a new Fresno State single-game strikeout record for a 7-inning game when she fanned 17 versus Kansas in the Bulldogs?™ 6-0 victory in the opening game of the Palm Springs Classic. While the NCAA does not list strikeouts for a seven inning game, her strikeout total was four less than the No. 25 single-game performance, which showcases 21 K?™s in several different innings. With three 10-strikeout games in five starts, she made two relief appearances. In the win over No. 10 Oklahoma, Mackin scattered five hits, walked four and struck out 11 as she pitched Fresno State to a 4-2 victory. In the 3-0 win over Texas Tech, she pitched her second two-hitter of the season as she walked four and struck out 13. Against UC Davis, she threw a two-hitter, walked three and struck out nine in the Bulldogs?™ 8-0, five-inning win.
Other player of the week nominees included: Kristin Sylvester of Fresno State hit .500 with 12 hits and four RBI in seven games … Brittany McConnell of San Jose State hit .333 with seven RBI ... Amy Schaible of Utah State hit .562 with nine hits, including one triple.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Kim Watson of New Mexico State went 2-0 with a 1.34 ERA in four appearances … Nicole Luna-Pickens of San Jose State went 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA … Heather Straight of Utah State struck out eight batters in two appearances.