DENVER – Utah State’s Tina Ferguson and Hawai`i’s Stephanie Ricketts have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 19-25. This is the first-ever honor for Ferguson and the third honor of the season and fifth of her career for Ricketts.
Ferguson, a freshman second baseman Payson, Utah, hit .643 with two triples, three home runs and 12 RBI as the Aggies went 4-1 on the week. Ferguson entered the week with 13 RBI on the season. Ferguson was 9-for-14 at the plate with a 1.571 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage. In a 12-2 win over Utah Valley, she went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI and two triples. In the nightcap, she hit the walk-off home run to cap an outstanding game, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored, five RBI and two home runs. In the Aggies' 4-2 win over San Jose State, Ferguson hit a walk-off three-run home run, and in the series finale, she had the game-winning hit that led USU to another seventh-inning come-from-behind win. During the week, Ferguson ran her hitting streak to eight games, USU's longest of the year.
Ricketts, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif., went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA last week as she fired her first career perfect game. In the five-inning gem at Nevada, she got six fly outs, seven ground outs and two strikeouts. She threw just 53 pitches in the game and faced the minimum 15 batters. It was her fourth shutout of the year and her third career no-hitter. With the win, Ricketts also became just the third pitcher in Hawai`i history to win at least 20 games in two seasons.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Boise State’s Vanessa Alvarez hit .429 with four RBI last week … Haley Gilleland of Fresno State hit .556 with three stolen bases on the week … Hawai`i’s Jenna Rodriguez hit .600 with two homers and six RBI in three games last week … Amberly Waits of Louisiana Tech reached base nine out of 10 times last week and posted a WAC-best .857 batting average … New Mexico State’s Hoku Nohara hit .429 with four home runs and 11 RBI on the week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Boise State’s Allie Crump went 2-1 with a 1.47 ERA and 17 strikeouts last week … Michelle Moses of Fresno State went 1-0 on the week with a 1.05 ERA and 17 strikeouts … Louisiana Tech’s Janna Frandup recorded the first win of her career, pitching a complete-game win over Boise State … Utah State’s Kate Greenough went 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA and 20 strikeouts last week.