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NM STATE'S HORTON, GCU'S NOWLIN NAMED WAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
NM State's Kelsey Horton and Grand Canyon's Taylor Nowlin have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 17-23. This is the third honor of the season and fourth of her career for Horton and the third of the season and ninth of her career for Nowlin.
Horton, a sophomore second baseman from San Clemente, Calif., hit a double and four home runs in five games last week. She posted a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .636 on-base percentage. Last Tuesday, Horton ended Arizona's no hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning with a long ball over the center field fence for the lone run against the No. 3 Wildcats in the nightcap. It was just the fifth homer given up by Arizona's Taylor McQuillin all season. Horton hit another homer in the series opener against CSU Bakersfield last Friday and then helped NM State clinch the series over the Roadrunners when she went 4-for-4 with a double, a homer and a grand slam in the Aggies' 13-3 victory in the series finale. In WAC games, Horton leads the league in batting average (.568), slugging percentage (1.297), on-base percentage (.644), runs (18), hits (21), RBIs (20), home runs (8) and total bases (48).
Nowlin, a senior left-hander from Peoria, Ariz., went 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA and 14 strikeouts in a pair of appearances over 12.0 innings last week. In her first appearance, she earned a complete-game victory, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking just one. In the final home outing of her career, Nowlin picked up her fifth shutout of the year in the series finale against Utah Valley. She nearly pitched a no-hitter giving up two hits in the final inning. Nowlin struck out all three batters in the final frame and finished with game with eight strikeouts. She leads the WAC with 145 strikeouts this season, nearly double the next closest pitcher. She is also tops in wins (19) and opponent batting average (.226).
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon's Kendsey Hill hit .636 with a double, a home run and seven RBIs ... Morgan Byrn of UMKC hit .368 with five home runs and seven RBIs on the week ... Seattle U's Alyson Matriotti hit .667 with two RBIs ... Brittney Vansway of Utah Valley hit .375 with two homers and four RBIs last week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Summer Evans went 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and two strikeouts last week ... Samaria Diaz of NM State went 1-1 with a 5.92 ERA and four strikeouts in 13.0 innings of work ... Seattle U's Andie Larkins went 2-1 with 4.88 ERA and seven strikeouts over 14.1 innings.
NM STATE'S RODRIGUEZ MOVES INTO SECOND PLACE IN CAREER STOLEN BASES
NM State junior Rachel Rodriguez recorded her 64th career stolen base last weekend to move into second place in the NM State record books. Rodriguez also ranks third place for stolen base attempts (72), one shy of second place.
CSUB'S BURT TIES PROGRAM SEASON STOLEN BASE RECORD
With a pair of stolen bases in the first game of a doubleheader at UC Riverside on April 19, CSU Bakersfield junior Kaylynn Burt moved her season total to 15. She is tied for the program single-season record set by Alex Simmons last year. Burt has also been hit by a pitch 11 times on the season, second-most in a single Division I season at CSUB. She is tied for the WAC lead this year, as well.
NM STATE'S GREEN MOVING UP PROGRAM SAVES LIST
With a save against UMKC on April 14, NM State sophomore hurler Kayla Green moved into fourth place in the NM State career record books with five. She has three saves this season and recorded two last year as a freshman.
CSUB GETS FIRST-EVER WIN IN A GAME OF 10+ INNINGS
When it defeated UC Riverside 3-2 in 10 innings on April 19, it was CSU Bakersfield's first-ever win in a game of 10 innings or more. The Roadrunners were 0-5 previously. The game tied for the fifth-longest game in CSUB's Division I history.
NM STATE'S BUTLER TIES PROGRAM RECORD FOR HBP
NM State freshman Nikki Butler tied the single-season record for hit by a pitch last Saturday. She was hit in back-to-back-to-back at bats for her 10th HBP of the season.
CSUB'S CURRY RANKS THIRD IN CAREER PUTOUTS
CSU Bakersfield junior Nicole Curry has 461 career putouts, good for third place in CSUB's Division I history. Curry needs to reach 582 to take over second. The all-time CSUB record is 859 (Amy Ricciardi, 2011-14).
UVU SURPASSES LAST YEAR'S OVERALL AND WAC WIN TOTALS
After going just 9-43 overall in 2016, Utah Valley is off to a 12-20 start under first-year head coach TJ Hubbard this season to already surpass its win total from a year ago. With a 4-8 record in WAC play this year, the Wolverines have already surpassed their win total in WAC-only play that they put up in each of the past two seasons. UVU finished with identical 3-12 conference records in both 2015 and 2016.
CSUB'S KLIMENKO FOURTH IN CAREER STARTS
With two more starts last weekend, CSU Bakersfield senior Lyndsay Klimenko now has 51 starts in her career, fourth-most in a CSUB Division I career. She needs 55 to claim third place. Klimenko also has 93 career appearances, second-most of any ‘Runner. The school record is 112 (Kelsie Monroe, 2013-15).