DENVER – New Mexico State’s Hoku Nohara and San Jose State’s Jennifer Ames have been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 22-28. This is the first honor of the season and third of her career for Nohara and the first-ever honor for Ames.
Nohara, a junior designated player Waimanalo, Hawai‘i, hit .556 (5-of-9) with a double, three home runs, five runs scored and seven RBI in three games last week. She had a 1.667 slugging percentage and a .636 on-base percentage and walked twice. In the first half of a doubleheader against Northern Colorado, she was 2-for-5 with a double and a home run. In the nightcap, she was 3-for-3 with four runs scored, four RBI and a pair of homers.
Ames, a sophomore from San Jose, was 2-0 on the week in her two starts and also made two relief appearances. She struck out five in each of her two wins and allowed just one earned run in 14.2 innings pitched. Ames opened the week by striking out three in two relief innings against UTEP. On Friday, she struck out one of the two batters she faced in relief in a win over Weber State, then pitched a complete-game six-hitter in a win over New Mexico a few hours later. She closed out the weekend with a complete-game three-hitter in the win over Weber State. For the week, she posted a WAC-best 0.61 ERA.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Fresno State’s Jody Badorine hit .500 with two RBI against four ranked teams last week … Kelly Majam of Hawai‘i was 7-for-16 with three homers last week … Louisiana Tech’s Amberly Waits hit .500 with eight hits, including a triple and three home runs, seven RBI and one stolen base on the week … Brittany McConnell of San Jose State hit .444 with one double, one triple, three home runs and 10 RBI over six games.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Fresno State’s Michelle Moses allowed just two hits and one unearned run against two ranked teams last week … Stephanie Ricketts of Hawai‘i went 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA and nine strikeouts on the week.