SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford catcher Abby Sweeney and Furman ace Lindsey Bert have been named the Southern Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games held April 17-23, the league announced Monday. Selections are made by the Southern Conference office.
Sweeney led Samford to a 2-2 week and ranked first among all SoCon hitters at the plate after going 9-for-13 (.692) on the week in the Bulldogs’ contests against UAB on Tuesday and Mercer this past weekend. The senior slugged 1.154 and tallied four extra-base hits – three doubles and one home run – in addition notching four runs scored and three RBIs. Sweeney, who was named the SoCon Player of the Week on March 27 of this year, did not strikeout once in 14 plate appearances last week.
Sweeney’s peak performance came in game two of the Bulldogs’ doubleheader against Mercer, in which Samford fell, 6-4. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native went 3-for-3 with a double, one home run and two RBIs.
Samford (21-29, 9-6 SoCon) will host Alabama Tuesday evening in the team's final home game of the 2017 season. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. (ET) start from the Samford Softball Stadium.
Bert garners her fifth SoCon Pitcher of the Week award after posting back-to-back shutouts in the Paladins’ wins over South Carolina State and UNCG last week. She finished 2-0 on the week an ERA of 0.00, while allowing no runs on nine hits in 12 innings of work. The junior left-hander fanned 19 batters – the most by a SoCon pitcher last week – while allowing just one walk. 11 of Bert’s 19 strikeouts on the week came in five innings in Furman’s 8-0 rout of South Carolina State on Wednesday. The Tallahassee, Florida, native tossed a seven-hit shutout and struck out eight batters without allowing a walk to beat UNCG, which leads the SoCon in slugging percentage, runs scored, home runs and RBIs, in a battle for first place in the SoCon.
Bert, who is 5-1 with a 0.18 ERA and just one earned run allowed in her last 38 innings of work, has recorded nine shutouts on the season. She is also 15-9 with a league-best 1.89 ERA and league-best 160 strikeouts.
Furman (26-18, 8-3 SoCon) holds a one-game lead in the SoCon standings and will face ETSU in Johnson City, Tennessee, this weekend in a three-game conference series.
Other nominees for player of the week: Danielle Knoetze (ETSU), Taylor Miller (Mercer), Rebecca Kale (UNCG) and Hunter Gibbons (Western Carolina).
Other nominees for pitcher of the week: Lindsey Fadnek (ETSU), Stella Preston (Mercer) and Grey Adams (Samford).
2017 Softball Players of the Week
Feb. 13 – Tiffany Laughren, ETSU, OF
Feb. 20 – Jasmine Palmer, UNCG, UT
Feb. 27 – Megan Lane, Mercer, C
March 6 – Abby Walsh, Mercer, OF
March 13 – Emily Acquaviva, UNCG, OF
March 20 – Abby Sweeney, Samford, OF
March 27 – Emma Andrew, Mercer, SS
April 3 – Madison Armstrong, Western Carolina, C
April 10 – Hunter Gibbons, Western Carolina, OF
April 17 – Whitney Hinton, Samford, IF
April 24 – Abby Sweeney, Samford, C
2017 Softball Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 13 – Madison Ogle, ETSU
Feb. 20 – Lindsey Bert, Furman
Feb. 27 – Lindsey Bert, Furman
March 6 – Courtney Buchanan, Western Carolina
March 13 – Lindsey Bert, Furman
March 20 – Jessica Stone, Samford
March 27 – Stella Preston, Mercer
April 3 – Madison Ogle, ETSU
April 10 – Stella Preston, Mercer
April 17 – Lindsey Bert, Furman
April 24 – Lindsey Bert, Furman
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