DENVER – Hawai`i’s Katie Grimes and Louisiana Tech’s Meghan Krieg have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 29-April 4. This is the first honor of the season and second of her career for Grimes and the first honor of the season and third of her career for Krieg.
Grimes, a senior catcher from Tampa, Fla., hit .556 with a 1.667 slugging percentage and .636 on-base percentage as the Rainbow Wahine swept New Mexico State on the road last week. The ninth batter in the line-up, she drove in a team-high eight runs and hit a team-high three home runs over the three games. In the first game of the series, Grimes started UH’s home run barrage with a two-run homer in the third inning to break open a scoreless game. In the following inning, she came through with a two-out, RBI single for her third RBI of the game. In the second game of the series, Grimes launched a career-high two homers and scored a career-high three runs in the 14-3 win. She also threw out the only attempt at a stolen base by the Aggies. In the series finale, Grimes had a bases-clearing double that helped lift UH to a five-inning, 13-1 win.
Krieg, a junior from Sonora, Texas, was a perfect 3-0 on the week with a 0.70 ERA. In three road wins, she recorded three complete-game victories while holding opponents to a .174 batting average. In 20.0 innings, Krieg allowed 12 hits and just two earned runs while striking out 22 batters. She opened the week with nine strikeouts in a win at Centenary. In two wins over San Jose State, a team that entered the week batting .312 as a team, Krieg held the Spartans to six hits and one run in 13.0 innings. She tossed a one-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Spartans and then came back with an impressive 9-1 win the following day.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Boise State’s Jessi Hanna hit .412 with four RBI last week … Andrea Ortega of Fresno State hit .529 with nine hits and four RBI on the week … Britton Murdock of Nevada hit .429 with four RBI on the week … New Mexico State’s Kandis Jones hit .500 with five hits last week ... Natasha Hawkins of San Jose State hit .500 with one homer on the week ... Utah State’s Kali Cancelosi hit .636 with two home runs and three RBI last week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Boise State’s Aubray Zell went 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA … Michelle Moses of Fresno State went 1-0 with 15 strikeouts last week … Hawai`i’s Stephanie Ricketts went 2-0 on the week … Amanda Pridmore of San Jose State went 1-1 with a 0.58 ERA last week.