SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Chattanooga’s Amanda Beltran and ETSU’s Kelly Schmidt have been named the Southern Conference softball player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for games played Feb. 11-17, the conference office announced Monday. It is the first weekly award for both Beltran and Schmidt.
Beltran went a combined 7-for-12 from the plate as the Mocs went 3-1 with wins over Tennessee Tech, Indiana State and Dayton in the Chattanooga Challenge, held at Chattanooga’s Jim Frost Stadium Feb. 15-17. Down 2-1 against Tennessee Tech in the team’s first game of the tournament, the Mocs exploded for a seven-run third inning, highlighted by Beltran’s two-RBI double down the left-field line. The hit was the second of the game for the senior, who singled up the middle in the bottom of the second inning. In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the Orange, California, native went 2-of-3 from the plate with a grand slam, a double, four RBIs and one run scored as the Mocs won 6-5 in a five-inning rain-shortened contest. Down 2-0 in the bottom half of the first inning, the catcher blasted a grand slam with two outs deep over the left-center wall to give Chattanooga a 4-2 lead. On the day, she was 4-for-6 with six RBIs. Beltran added two hits, including a double, an RBI and two runs scored in an 8-0 win over Dayton and tallied one hit in a loss to Kennesaw State to conclude tournament play. Through two weeks of play, she leads the team in batting average (.500), hits (13), home runs (three), RBIs (12) and slugging percentage (.962).
Schmidt won two games in the circle, both shutouts, on the week. On Friday, the junior kicked off the week with a 1-0 shutout of Detroit Mercy, her second of the season. Despite allowing five hits, the native of Norcross, Georgia, registered a career-high 11 strikeouts in the complete-game win. The next day, she returned to the circle against Charleston Southern and held the Bucs to just two hits in five innings in a 12-0, run-rule win. Schmidt saw action against Virginia Tech in the last game of the weekend, surrendering two runs and recording three strikeouts in the 8-3 loss. The loss was the first of the season for ETSU (6-1-2). She finished the weekend with 17 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched and boasted an ERA of 1.00.
Beltran and the Mocs (8-1) return to play on Feb. 22, hosting the Frost Classic, while ETSU hosts Tennessee on Tuesday, Feb. 18, in the Bucs’ home opener.
Others nominated for player of the week: Tiffany Laughren (ETSU), Allie Jones (Mercer), Gabi Howard (UNCG), Madison Couch (Samford) and Hunter Gibbons (Western Carolina).
Others nominated for pitcher of the week: Kylie Bouplin (UNCG), Lacey Spear (Samford) and Allison Swinford (Chattanooga).
2019 SoCon Softball Players of the Week
Feb. 11 – Aly Walker, OF/DP, Jr., Chattanooga
Feb. 18 – Amanda Beltran, C., Sr., Chattanooga
2019 SoCon Softball Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 11 – Celie Hudson, Jr., Chattanooga
Feb. 18 – Kelly Schmidt, Jr., ETSU
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