SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU’s Nikki Grupp and UNCG’s Stephanie Bryden have been named the Southern Conference softball player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for games played Feb. 18-24, the conference office announced Monday. It is the first weekly award for both Grupp and Bryden.
Grupp hit .471, going a combined 8-for-17 from the plate as the Bucs went 2-3 with wins over Gardner-Webb and St. Francis in the Gardner-Webb tournament held Feb 22-24 in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Grupp tallied at least one hit in all five contests on the week, running her hit streak to eight consecutive games. The native of Jacksonville, Florida, boasted a slugging percentage of 1.118 and an on-base percentage of .500 and five of her eight hits were for extra bases. On the week, the preseason second team selection totaled 11 RBIs, 11 runs scored and drew three walks, not once striking out. Defensively, she added nine assists and three put-outs and didn’t commit an error. Grupp began her successful weekend with three RBIs against St. Francis on Feb. 22 before going 2-for-3 from the plate with a homerun, a double, four runs scored and four RBIs in the nightcap against Gardner-Webb. The next day against St. Francis, she hit .545 with three hits in four trips to the plate, again adding a home run and scoring four runs. She also tacked on another three RBIs. In the tournament finale against Gardner-Webb on Sunday, the junior infielder notched her third homerun in as many days in the top of the third inning. Grupp’s five homeruns through three weeks of play leads all conference players. She also leads the conference in runs batted in (21) and is second in runs scored (17) and total bases (34).
Bryden went 1-0 on the week as she led UNCG past Oakland, 5-0, in the Spartans’ midweek contest on Feb. 19. The senior from Orlando, Florida, threw a four-hit shutout and tallied 12 strikeouts in UNCG’s home opener. She gave up just one walk en route to her team-leading fifth win of the season and also added a double at the plate. The preseason all-conference selection leads the conference in strikeouts (35).
Next up, Grupp and the Bucs (8-4-2) compete in the TSU Winter Warm Up hosted by Tennessee State March 1-3, while UNCG (7-5) is in action today against Longwood at 2:30 and 5 p.m. in the final games of the UNCG Invitational.
Others nominated for player of the week: Laurenne Sanchez (Mercer) and Jordan Gontram (UNCG).
Others nominated for pitcher of the week: Kelly Schmidt (ETSU) and Lynn Gardner (Mercer).
2019 SoCon Softball Players of the Week
Feb. 11 – Aly Walker, OF/DP, Jr., Chattanooga
Feb. 18 – Amanda Beltran, C., Sr., Chattanooga
Feb. 25 – Nikki Grupp, 3B, Jr., ETSU
2019 SoCon Softball Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 11 – Celie Hudson, Jr., Chattanooga
Feb. 18 – Kelly Schmidt, Jr., ETSU
Feb. 25 – Stephanie Bryden, Sr., UNCG
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