DENVER - Hawai‘i’s Jessica Iwata and Stephanie Ricketts have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 12-18. This is the first honor of the season and third of her career for Iwata and the third of the season and 10th overall for Ricketts.
Iwata, a junior shortstop from Lihu‘e, Kaua‘i (Kaua‘i HS), hit .286 with a double, a home run and three RBI, including a pair of game-winning, walk-off RBI, as the Rainbow Wahine faced three teams ranked in the top 25, including two in the top 10. Against No. 1/2 California, Iwata drilled a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift Hawai‘i to a 3-1 win over the previously unbeaten Golden Bears. In the final game of the tournament, she hit a game-winning sacrifice fly to centerfield to drive in Dara Pagaduan in the bottom of the seventh inning to give UH a 2-1 win over Winthrop. For the week, Iwata had a team-high .353 on-base percentage and .571 slugging percentage.
Ricketts, a senior from San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty HS), went 2-2 on the week and earned one of the biggest wins in Hawai‘i history, defeating No. 1/2 California. Against the top-ranked Golden Bears, she threw all 10 innings without giving up an earned run and posted a season-high 12 strikeouts. For the week, she threw four complete games, including three straight, and posted a 1.35 ERA with 32 strikeouts.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Delaney Willard of Brigham Young hit .444 with three RBI last week ... Fresno State’s Stesha Brazil hit .333 with a double, a triple and four RBI ... Erin Kipp of Louisiana Tech hit .500 with two doubles, two homers and four RBI ... New Mexico State’s Staci Rodriguez hit a game-winning three-run homer to give the Aggies a win over No. 23 New Mexico in their only game last week ... Annica Wolfe of San Jose State hit .364 with a double and one RBI on the week ... Utah State’s Christine Thomsen had a triple, a home run and three RBI on the week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Tori Almond of Brigham Young went 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 12 strikeouts in two appearances last week ... Fresno State’s Michelle Moses went 2-1 with a 1.54 ERA and 21 strikeouts ... Erin Kipp of Louisiana Tech pitched her first career shutout last week ... New Mexico State’s Karysta Donisthorpe picked up a pair of wins and had a 0.69 ERA with 12 strikeouts on the week ... Amanda Pridmore of San Jose State went 2-1 with 19 strikeouts and a 0.36 ERA.