SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNC Greensboro’s Kayleigh Willis and Western Carolina’s Jayme Eilers have been named the Southern Conference softball player and pitcher of the week, respectively, for games played April 26-May 2, the conference office announced Monday.
 
Willis hit .556 with five hits, four runs scored and seven RBIs as UNCG went 3-1 with a midweek nonconference win at Charlotte and a pair of wins in a conference series at Mercer over the weekend. The senior went 1-for-2 in the 10-2, six-inning win over the 49ers on Wednesday. In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Virginia Beach, Virginia, native again went 1-for-2 with a double, drawing a pair of walks in the 2-1 loss. Later that afternoon, the designated player went 3-for-3 with two home runs, three runs scored and seven RBIs in an 11-3 win. Willis became the sixth player in program history to finish with seven RBIs in a single game and finished just one short of the single-game program record, recorded by Nicole Thomas in 2014. She also drew a walk in the win. She finished the day reaching base in seven of her eight plate appearances. Willis drew two walks in the series finale on Sunday, a 5-3 Spartans win.
 
Eilers, a sophomore, started three games on the week, going 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA as the Catamounts went 5-0 as a squad with a midweek sweep of North Carolina A&T and a sweep of Furman over the weekend. The Sterling, Illinois, native went the distance in all three contests and tossed two shutouts, allowing just six hits in 21 innings and striking out 32, tallying at least nine in each contest. On Thursday, Eilers recorded a no-hitter in a 3-0 win over North Carolina A&T. She had a perfect game through five innings before she gave up a walk in the top of the sixth inning. She added 13 strikeouts in the win. In the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, Eilers struck out nine and allowed just three hits and two walks in a 2-0 victory over the Paladins. She took the circle in the series finale on Sunday, again allowing just three hits. Eilers allowed just one run, which was earned, and struck out 10 in the 5-1 victory.
 
UNCG (28-15, 11-4 SoCon) and Western Carolina (25-21, 12-2), the top two teams in the conference standings, square off in the final regular-season series of the 2021 campaign. The series, held in Greensboro, North Carolina, begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 8, and concludes with a single game on Sunday, May 9.
 
Others nominated for player of the week: Riley Ludlam (Furman), Allie Jones (Mercer), Kathryn Jackson (Samford) and Bailey Huneycutt (Western Carolina).
 
Others nominated for pitcher of the week: Ashlyn Donner (Mercer), Morgan Scott (UNCG) and Emily Barnett (Samford).
 
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
May 3 – Kayleigh Willis, DP, Sr., UNCG
 
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
May 3 – Jayme Eilers, So., Western Carolina