Sun Belt Conference Softball

April 9, 2012

NEW ORLEANS – Western Kentucky’s Kelsie Mattox and Louisiana-Lafayette’s Jordan Wallace were named the Sun Belt Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, as announced by the league office on Monday.

Mattox earned her first conference honor of the season and second for WKU, while Wallace received her second pitcher of the week accolade of the season and eighth player of the week for the Cajuns this year.

 Mattox hit .600 with two home runs, two doubles, and five RBI as WKU took two of three games from Troy this weekend. The sophomore outfielder hit her 10th home run of the season in game one of Friday night’s doubleheader, going 1-for-3 in the game. With that home run, Mattox became the fourth Lady Toppers to hit double-digit home runs in a season. In the nightcap, Mattox went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI as WKU beat Troy 8-0 in five innings. On Saturday, Mattox hit a two-run home run in the third inning for the only runs in WKU’s 2-0 win. For the weekend, the Alpharetta, Ga., native slugged 1.400 with a .600 on base percentage.

Wallace moved to 18-0 on the year after picking up two complete game shutout wins over South Alabama last weekend. The freshman recorded a career-high 16 strikeouts, while allowing just five hits in the, 1-0, 10 inning win on Friday. Wallace followed up that performance with a two-hitter on Saturday, punching out seven USA batters in the, 3-0 win to complete the three game sweep. The Weatherford, Texas, native is off to one of the best starts, for a freshman to begin their career, in NCAA history.

 NOTES

-The Sun Belt has a .605 winning percentage against non-conference teams and a winning record against 17 other conferences, including a perfect record against six other conferences.

 -Louisiana-Lafayette extended it’s home win streak to 36 consecutive victories dating back to the 2011 season, the longest streak in NCAA Division I.

 -Six out of nine Sun Belt teams are in the NCAA’s top 100 RPI -- Louisiana-Lafayette (6), Troy (33), South Alabama (44), FIU (68), Western Kentucky (82) and North Texas (97). Eight out of nine Sun Belt teams are in the top 150.

 -Louisiana-Lafayette’s Christi Orgeron was named a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Orgeron, who leads the NCAA in RBI on the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense, is also a top 50 finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year Award.

 -South Alabama sophomore lefty Hannah Campbell was named College Sports Madness Sun Belt Conference player of the week on April 2. 

 -Nikki Hollett hit a solo home run on Friday against the Toppers, marking the 39th homer of her career, moving Hollett into second place on the Troy career home runs list.

 -Ashley Kirk allowed just one run in 10 innings of work in the two wins. She did not allow a single walk in both games. She struck out a combined 13 batters in the two games, moving up into third place in the Mean Green’s career strikeout record list with 253 strikeouts.

 -Brittany Simmons struck out a career-high eight batters in the 5-3 loss. She has quietly moved into fifth place all-time at North Texas with 184 strikeouts.