TicketSmarter WAC Softball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Announced
DENVER – Kansas City's Sydney Garcia and Utah Valley's Devyn Cretz have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 3-9.
Garcia, a senior outfielder from Kansas City, Mo., hit an impressive .500 clip with a .857 slugging percentage in five games at the Maverick Classic in Arlington, Texas. Her weekend was highlighted by a walk-off RBI double against Southland preseason favorite Stephen F. Austin on Valentine's Day. Garcia also went yard in the bottom of the fifth against SFA. In the Roos second matchup with SFA, the Kansas City native batted .750 with three RBIs to lead the Roos to a 9-2 win. For the weekend, Garcia finished with seven hits, two doubles, one home run, five RBIs and two stolen bases.
Cretz, a senior right-hander from Corona, Calif., picked up her second Pitcher of the Week award as she went 2-0 with a save at the Marucci Desert Classic in Las Vegas. She earned wins over Montana and UNLV, pitching a combined 15 innings while maintaining a 0.00 earned run average. Against UNLV, Cretz retired 16 of the final 18 hitters she faced and pitched seven shutout innings to snap the Rebels six-game win streak. Against Weber State, the senior came in following a six-run sixth inning that gave the Wolverines a 6-5 lead. The Wildcats went three up, three down as Cretz struck out two of the final three batters to earn the save.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Samantha Pech went three-for-eight on the weekend with one RBI and a .500 on-base percentage as the Runners competed at the Libby Matson Tournament in Stockton, Calif… NM State's Ramsay Lopez hit .455 with five hits, two home runs and seven RBIs while also earning five walks as the Aggies split a four-game series with Omaha… Seattle U's Cherise Silvan hit a .467 clip while slugging .667 as she managed seven hits, three doubles and 2 RBIs at the Libby Matson tournament… Utah Valley's Abby Doughty hit a game-winning grand slam with UVU trailing 5-2 against Weber State in the bottom of the sixth on Sunday while also batting .400 with eight hits, one home run and six RBIs over the weekend to lead the Wolverines to 5-1 record at the Marucci Desert Classic.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: California Baptist's Giana Lopez pitched two shutout innings and allowed only one hit against sixth-ranked Texas on top of earning a complete game shutout win against Ole Miss… CSU Bakersfield's Talia Nielsen picked up her first collegiate win and struck out a combined eight batters as she went 1-1 at the Libby Matson Tournament... NM State's Matalasi Faapito posted a 3.20 earned run average in 15.1 innings during a four game series against Omaha… Seattle U's Shi Smith collected a win as the Redhawks took down Stanford 5-2 and also earned a save in a 4-3 win over Nevada at the Libby Matson Tournament.