DENVER ?“ Fresno State?™s Nichole Willis and Hawai'i?™s Justine Smethhurst have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. This is the first honor this season for both.
Willis, a sophomore from Clovis, Calif., had the timely hits for the Bulldogs at the Judi Garman Softball Classic last week in Fullerton, Calif. Batting .313 (5-for-16), she had two multi hit games, including a 2-4 performance with double and a RBI against No. 6 Alabama and a 2-3 outing with a run, a home run and four RBI versus UNLV. Her game against the Rebels lifted the Bulldogs into the consolation semifinals against No. 11 Arizona State. In the first game of pool play, Willis put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with a RBI single versus the Tide. In the quarterfinals of consolation against UNLV, she hit a three-run home run.
Smethurst, a freshman from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia fired a perfect game against Longwood University. It was her first career shut-out or perfect game. She struck out six while facing the minimum 21 batters. In her second appearance of the tournament, she held the Kansas Jayhawks scoreless for 3.2 innings before giving up a home run. She ended up throwing 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits with two strike outs.
Other player of the week nominees included: Kaulana Gould of Hawai'i hit .300 with three hits and two RBI in four games … Danielle Eakins of San Jose State hit .500 in two games for the Spartans ... Jessica Garnett of Utah State hit .235 with three RBI at the Capital Classic.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Robin Mackin of Fresno State went 2-2 with a 1.96 ERA with two shutouts and 35 strikeouts … Jordan McPherson of Nevada threw eight innings in the Wolf Pack?™s extra-inning win over Jacksonville ... Courtney Lewis of San Jose State pitched a complete-game shutout against North Dakota State … Heather Straight of Utah State was named to the Capital Classic all-tournament team after going 2-1 in three starts.