SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford’s Timberlyn Shurbutt and ETSU’s Kelly Schmidt have been named the Southern Conference softball player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for games played March 8-14, the conference office announced Monday.
 
Shurbutt hit .467 with seven hits, four RBIs and three runs scored in the Bulldogs’ five games last week at the Blazer Classic in Birmingham, Alabama. The junior went 1-for-3 against UAB, the tournament’s host, on March 12. The next day, the Alexandria, Virginia, native exploded to go 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, blasting a home run in the top of the fifth inning that broke a scoreless tie and gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead that proved to be the difference in a 2-0 win. In game two that afternoon, Shurbutt hit a home run in the top of the third to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. In the sixth inning, she added a sacrifice fly to double Samford’s one-run lead, putting her squad ahead 6-4 and capping off a 2-for-2 outing at the plate. She went 2-for-4 in the final game of the tournament against Southern Illinois on March 14.
 
Schmidt, a redshirt senior, went 2-1 on the week. She boasted a 1.00 ERA and threw three complete games, two of which were shutouts. The native of Norcross, Georgia, began the week with a four-hit, five strikeout performance over Appalachian State in ETSU’s 2-0 victory on March 9. She then threw seven more scoreless innings against Akron, allowing just two hits and striking out a season-high seven batters in the 4-0 win on March 13. Schmidt again went the distance in her final game of the week, a 4-2 loss to Bradley on March 14. Schmidt held opponents to a .173 batting average this week, allowing just 14 hits in 81 at bats and striking out 16 batters, while only allowing seven walks.
 
Samford (9-12) hosts Mississippi State on Wednesday, March 17, and plays at Southern Mississippi for a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday, while ETSU (7-5) hosts Radford in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 16, and plays a doubleheader at NC Central on Sunday, March 21. 
 
Others nominated for player of the week: Julia Fritz (ETSU), Mackense Greico (Furman), Allie Jones (Mercer), Makenna Matthijs (UNCG) and Kailey McNeil (Western Carolina).
 
Others nominated for pitcher of the week: Sierra Tufts (Furman), Ashlyn Donner (Mercer), Morgan Scott (UNCG), Taylor DeCelles (Samford) and Savannah Rice (Western Carolina).
 
2021 SoCon Softball Players of the Week
Feb. 15 – Bailey Huneycutt, SS, Jr., Western Carolina
Feb. 22 – Courtney Ball, 3B, Fr., Chattanooga
March 1 – Nikki Grupp, 3B, R-Sr., ETSU
March 8 – Jasmine Palmer, OF, R-Jr., UNCG
March 15 – Timberlyn Shurbutt, IF, Jr., Samford
 
2021 SoCon Softball Pitchers of the Week
Feb. 15 – Jayme Eilers, So., Western Carolina
Feb. 22 – Abby Swaney, R-Fr., Samford
March 1 – Emily Barnett, Jr., Samford
March 8 – Morgan Scott, So., UNCG
March 15 – Kelly Schmidt, R-Sr., ETSU