SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Chattanooga’s Courtney Ball and UNC Greensboro’s Morgan Scott have been named the Southern Conference softball player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for games played April 19-25, the conference office announced Monday.
 
Ball hit .750 with six hits, three runs scored and a pair of RBIs as Chattanooga downed SEC foe Auburn on Wednesday and split a pair of conference contests at Furman over the weekend. The freshman went 2-for-2 with a walk and scored the lone run in a 1-0 win over Auburn, Chattanooga’s first win over an SEC opponent since 2015. In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Macon, Georgia, native went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, pair of runs scored and an RBI in a 9-5 setback. She went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in a 3-0 win in the second game of the doubleheader. Ball also tallied two sacrifices on the week.
 
Scott, a sophomore, made appearances in two of UNCG’s four games, all wins, on the week, going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. The Irmo, South Carolina, native pitched a pair of complete game shutouts against Samford, propelling the Spartans to a 3-0 win in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader and helping her squad past the Bulldogs, 1-0, in the second game. Scott allowed just seven hits in 14 innings pitched, only two of which went for extra bases, both doubles. She struck out 10 in the pair of wins, including eight in the first contest, and allowed just one walk on the week.
 
Chattanooga (11-22, 6-7 SoCon) is off this weekend after its scheduled home series against No. 1 Oklahoma was cancelled earlier this month. The Mocs return to action on May 8-10, hosting Samford in the final series of the regular season. UNCG (25-14, 9-3) plays at Charlotte for a nonconference contest on Wednesday, April 28, and resumes conference play at Mercer (20-18, 5-6) this weekend. The Spartans and Bears play a doubleheader on Saturday, May 1, starting at 1:30 p.m., and conclude the three-game series on Sunday afternoon.
 
Others nominated for player of the week: Mackense Greico (Furman), Danielle Castleberry (Mercer), Makenna Matthijs (UNCG) and Bailey Huneycutt (Western Carolina).
 
Others nominated for pitcher of the week: Ashlyn Donner (Mercer), Brooke Parrott (Chattanooga) and Jayme Eilers (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-Sr., UNCG
March 15 – Timberlyn Shurbutt, IF, Jr., Samford
March 22 – Maycin Brown, IF, So., UNCG
March 29 – Whitney Hinton, 2B, Sr., Samford
April 5 – Hayleigh Weissenbach, OF, R-Sr., Chattanooga
April 12 – Bailey Huneycutt, SS, Jr., Western Carolina
April 19 – Makenna Matthijs, CF, Sr., UNCG
April 26 – Courtney Ball, 3B, Fr., Chattanooga
 

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
March 22 – Kelly Schmidt, R-Sr., ETSU
March 29 – Emily Barnett, Jr., Samford
April 5 – Brooke Parrott, Jr., Chattanooga
April 12 – Savannah Rice, So., Western Carolina
April 19 – Ashlyn Donner, So., Mercer
April 26 – Morgan Scott, So., UNCG