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NM STATE'S FINAU, GCU'S NOWLIN NAMED WAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
NM State's Fiana Finau and Grand Canyon's Taylor Nowlin have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 7-13. This is the first honor of the season and fifth of her career for Finau and the second of the season and fourth of her career for Nowlin.
Finau, a senior outfielder from Chula Vista, Calif., hit .579 with 11 hits, three doubles, three home runs, five runs scored and 13 RBIs over six games last week. She posted a 1.211 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage with a hit in five of six games and four multi-hit games on the week. In a single game against rival New Mexico last Tuesday, Finau went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and four RBIs. She also went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs against East Carolina.
Nowlin, a junior from Peoria, Ariz., went 2-0 with a save in four appearances last week. She allowed just five earned runs on eight hits in 14.1 innings of work for a 2.44 ERA. Nowlin struck out 11 batters and held opponents to a .167 batting average. In 2.1 innings against CSUN, she allowed one run on two hits to earn the win. Nowlin picked up a save after throwing one hitless inning against San Diego and closed out the week with a win against Toledo, when she allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts over 6.0 innings.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon's Briielle Breland hit .455 with four runs scored, a double, a home run and six RBIs over five games ... Kendra Leach of Missouri-Kansas City hit .563 with a double, a triple, a home run and seven RBIs over five games last week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: UMKC's Katie Kelley went 1-2 with a save and 16 strikeouts in five appearances ... NM State's Makayla McAdams went 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA over 8.2 innings.
NM STATE'S ADAMS LEADS NATION IN SACRIFICE FLIES
NM State senior Emma Adams currently leads the nation with four sacrifice flies this season. Teammate Kelsey Horton and Seattle U's Maddy Kristjanson are tied for seventh with three, while Tatum Reedy of NM State and Brittney Vansway of Utah Valley are tied for 34th with two apiece.
CURRENT HITTING STREAKS
Grand Canyon's Shea Smith currently has a WAC-leading 13-game hitting streak. Utah Valley's Brianna Gatlin is close behind at 10. The longest streak this season belongs to Grand Canyon's Sierra Smith, who posted a 17-game streak from Feb. 19 against Utah State until March 10 vs. Toledo.
NM STATE'S NEW EMPHASIS ON STOLEN BASES
NM State currently leads the WAC with 61 stolen bases, more than twice the number of the second-place team in that category, Utah Valley (27). The Aggies surpassed last year's total of 56 stolen bases in just 25 games this season.
SEATTLE U'S LARKINS HAS EARNED SEVEN OF EIGHT SEATTLE U WINS
Seattle U freshman pitcher Andie Larkins has earned seven of the Redhawks' eight wins in the circle this season. Larkins has two shutouts thus far this season.
NM STATE RANKS IN TOP 25 NATIONALLY IN SEVERAL OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
NM State currently ranks sixth nationally in batting average (.367), 11th in slugging percentage (.562), 16th in on-base percentage (.440), 22nd in stolen bases per game (2.03) and 23rd in scoring (6.67). The Aggies are also 39th in doubles per game (1.50), 41st in triples per game (0.27) and 48th in home runs per game (0.93).
GRAND CANYON'S OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Through 28 games this season, Grand Canyon is outscoring its opponents 199 to 109. The Lopes' largest margin of victory is 18 runs, with one 10-run victory, one nine-run win and six victories by eight runs. Grand Canyon has also posted six shutouts.
THIRTEEN OF NM STATE'S 20 VICTORIES BY RUN RULE
NM State is currently 20-10 on the season, with 13 of its 20 victories coming by run rule. The Aggies have won six games by 10 runs, two games by nine runs and five games by eight runs, and have posted five shutouts this season.
UVU'S SMITH SETS PROGRAM STEALS RECORD
With her fourth stolen base of the season in the third inning of the Mary Nutter Classic finale against Binghamton on Feb. 21, Utah Valley senior Morgan Smith became the program's all-time leader in stolen bases with 41. Smith, who also holds the school record for all-time triples with 11, passed Meghan Yocom's (2008-2011) previous UVU record of 40. Smith is now 47-for-53 for her career in stolen bases.