LSU’s Bell & Oklahoma’s Pendley, UCLA’s Carda Selected Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Co-Players and Pitcher of the Week

LSU junior Bianka Bell and Oklahoma senior Shelby Pendley, along with UCLA senior Ally Carda were selected the 2015 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Co-Players and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games played over March 9-15.

Bianka Bell

Bell was nearly unflappable at the plate as she led all LSU player with 10 hits as the Tigers earned a series win over previously No. 1 and undefeated Florida Gators for the first time since 2006 which catapulted them to No. 1 for the first time in program history as well.

The Tampa, Fla. native batted .714 (10-14) with eight RBI, five runs and recorded a base hit in her first six at bats of the series. She earned her first four-hit game (4-for-4) of her career amid three multi-hit outings and drove in a career-high five runs in Sunday’s series clinching win. Bell’s lone home run of the week happened to be the go-ahead three-run shot that broke a 3-3 deadlock. She would knock in two more during the contest with a double.

Shelby Pendley

Pendley, a native of Rio Rancho, N.M, put on a power display last weekend with seven home runs, two doubles and a staggering 2.538 slugging percentage. Homering in all four games, Pendley set a program record by leaving the yard in her fifth straight game.

It also marked the ninth time in NCAA Division I history a player has accomplished that feat. In addition, she batted .769 (10-13), recorded 10 runs and 14 RBI and posted a .824 on base percentage. In two games against the Pirates, she was 6-for-8 with a double, five home runs, 11 RBI and six runs scored. Following a three-homer, six-RBI effort in the first meeting, she went 3-for-5 with a double, two long balls, six RBI and three runs scored.

“It really is an honor to be recognized as the national player of the week,” Pendley said. “And while I had a great weekend, I have to give credit to my teammates and coaches for helping me with my success. This is a great personal accomplishment, but I’m more excited to see what this team has in store for the rest of the season.”

Ally Carda

Carda, a senior from Elk Grove, Calif., factored in all four victories for No. 11 UCLA, earning three wins, including a complete-game effort over then-No. 15 Baylor, and one save. She struck out 30 in 20 innings and surrendered just seven hits, two runs and one walk. She began the week by tying a career high with 14 strikeouts against the Bears, while limiting her opponent to three hits and not walking a batter.

“It is a humbling privilege to receive this award for the second straight week,” Carda said. “I have just been focusing on keeping things simple out on the mound and my teammates allow for me to do that. They have been clutch both offensively and defensively, and I know that regardless of the outcome on the mound, they always have my back.”

In the SEC series against Utah, she twirled a two-hit complete game shutout (7K, 0BB) in the series-opening 1-0 victory. Carda followed that with a two-inning no-hit save in game two and closed out the week striking out seven and allowing just two hits in four innings of work in the finale. She finished the week with a 0.70 ERA and held her opponents to a .104 batting average.

The success of this UCLA program has been dominance in the circle,” head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “Ally has been working closely with Lisa Fernandez and it showed this weekend. She got stronger in every situation. It’s great for Ally to be recognized for the work she is putting in for this last lap as a Bruin.”

Player of the Week
March 17 – Bianka Bell (LSU); Shelby Pendley (Oklahoma)
March 10 – Kacie Burnett (Idaho State)
March 3 – A.J. Andrews (LSU)
Feb. 24 – Jenna Lilley (Oregon)
Feb. 17 – Lauren Haeger (Florida)
Feb. 10 – Lindsey Stephens (Texas)

Pitcher of the Week
March 17 – Ally Carda (UCLA)
March 10 – Ally Carda (UCLA)
March 3 – Delanie Gourley (Florida)
Feb. 24 – Cheridan Hawkins (Oregon)
Feb. 17 – Shelby Turnier (UCF)
Feb. 10 – Miranda Kramer (Western Kentucky)

Selected Top Performances

• Creighton’s Liz Dike, over an eight-game stretch, batted .520 (13-25) with a double, triple, four home runs, 14 RBI, 10 runs scored, a .567 OBP and 1.120 slugging percentage to garner Big East Player of the Week honors…
• Teammate Syndee Eck garnered the Big East Pitcher of the Week nod after a 3-0 week with a 0.00 ERA, 16 strikeouts and just one walk, allowing a run and tossing two complete-game shutouts…
• AAC Player of the Week, USF’s Lee Ann Spivey, batted .476 (10-21) with a double, two home runs, 12 RBI and nine runs scored…
• Kristen Brown of North Carolina garnered ACC Player of the Week honors after batting .538 (7-13) with a double, four home runs, 12 RBI, eight runs scored and a 1.538 slugging percentage…
• North Dakota State’s Krista Menke earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors after tossing two complete-game shutouts with 29 strikeouts and just three hits surrendered in 14 innings of work…
• Pac-12 Player of the Week, Koral Costa of Oregon, was 5-for-8 (.625) with a double, two home runs, six RBI and five runs scored in series sweep of Oregon State…
• UCF’s Mackenzie Audas went 4-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 59 punchouts in 32 innings to garner AAC Pitcher of the Week honors…
• Kendall Settlemyre of USC Upstate took home Atlantic Sun Co-Player of the Week honors after launching two grand slams and four home runs in all with 12 RBI and a .348 batting average…
• Atlantic Sun Co-Player of the Week, Dani Devlin of Northern Kentucky batted .563 (9-16) with three doubles, two home runs, eight RBI and eight runs scored to earn program’s first POTW honor…
• James Madison’s Jailyn Ford was selected CAA Pitcher of the Week and UCF Spring Fling MVP as she went 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 26 strikeouts; allowed just two base runners to reach with a hit and walk in 17.1 innings…
• WCC Player of the Week, Kailey Hill of San Diego, launched five home runs in six games with six RBI and a .438 average…
• Mercer’s Kirsten Stevens was selected Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week after going 4-0 without allowing a run in 26 innings; she struck out 19, did not walk a batter and held opponents to a .174 average…
• South Carolina’s Nickie Blue, the SEC Pitcher of the Week, posted a 3-1 mark with a 0.55 ERA and 23 strikeouts; she earned a complete-game shutout against Tennessee…
• All four of Georgia State’s Ivie Drake’s hits left the yard as she batted .500, knocked in eight and scored five times on her way to Sun Belt Player of the Week honors…
• Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, Western Kentucky’s Miranda Kramer, struck out 38, posted a 1.80 ERA and posted a no-hitter against UTSA…
• Southland Pitcher of the Week, Jamie Allred of McNeese State went 2-0 with a save and 0.00 ERA…
• Norfolk State’s Alina Moriarty totaled 10 hits with three home runs, two doubles, six RBI and six runs to earn MEAC Player of the Week honors…
• Oregon’s Cheridan Hawkins tossed two complete-game shutouts, including a no-hitter in the opener against Oregon State, with 10 punchouts and three walks in 11.1 innings…
• CAA Rookie of the Week Megan Good of James Madison went 4-0, tossing three complete games, including two shutouts with a 0.28 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 25.1 innings…
• Louisville’s Maryssa Becker was 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA and a save; she struck out 18, held opponents to a .189 batting average and tossed a complete-game shutout in series opening win over Virginia…
• Jade Rhodes of Auburn batted .571 (4-7) with four home runs, eight RBI and five runs scored…
• George Washington’s Sarah Costlow went 6-0 with a 1.22 ERA and two complete game shutouts in 34.1 innings of work last week…
• Troy’s Hannah Day batted .538 with a double, triple, home run and 12 RBI, including a pair of five-RBI games against Appalachian State…

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Bianka Bell earns USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week

After helping lead LSU to a series win over the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators, junior infielder Bianka Bell (Tampa, Fla.) has earned the Week 6 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced Wednesday.

Also tabbed as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week, Bell’s strong performance at the plate helped land her team at No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history earlier today.

“I’m still kind of speechless, but so grateful and humbled to have earned this award,” said Bell.  “We had such an amazing weekend and I could not have been able to put up the numbers I did without the people around me. All year, Coach Torina has stressed to us the importance of passing the bat and playing for each other, and it just so happened that I had the hot hand in our games last week. Our offense as a whole did a great job of being selfless and giving all of us the opportunities at the plate that we did, which in turn the gave me chances to make something happen for the team. Thank you again for this amazing honor and I hope I can continue to make our LSU family proud.”

In arguably one of the biggest regular-season series in program history, Bell led all LSU players with 10 hits as the Tigers earned a series win over the Gators for the first time since 2006.  In their first meeting of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) series, Bell was lights out at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4, earning her first four-hit game of her career.  In their second game of the series, Bell went 3-for-5, knocking in three RBI while scoring twice herself as the Tigers took a 14-10 win over Florida to even up the series.

In their final meeting, a game which would decide the series, Bell again went 3-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored.  With the game tied at 3-3, she hit the go-ahead home run on a three-run shot to give LSU the lead and added two more on a two-RBI double later in the game.

“Bianka has been such a special player for our program since the day she stepped foot on campus, and her earning this award is a testament to all of the hours of hard work she has put into not only her game but being a leader on this team,” said LSU Head Coach Beth Torina.

“Her play last weekend can be attributed to many factors, but none more so than her belief in playing for the name on the front of the jersey, and placing her teammates in the best possible position to succeed. She is a true team player that would tell you that her accomplishments would not be possible without the help of her teammates and the support they bring. She is very deserving of this honor and we are excited to see her continued growth in this program.”

For the weekend, Bell put together an astounding .716 (10-for-14) batting average, eight RBI, one home run and crossed the plate five times.  She also combined for a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .714 on-base percentage while reaching base safely in each of her first six at-bats.

For the season, the Florida native leads her team with a .545 batting average with 41 RBI, nine home runs and 38 runs scored.

This is the first USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week honors for Bell and the first for an LSU player since Week 9 of the 2011 season when Anissa Young earned the accolades.  LSU will look to defend its No. 1 ranking this week as they host Nicholls State and the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners in Baton Rouge, La.

2015 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 5-8): Taylor Schoblocher – North Texas – Junior – Utility – Forney, Texas
Week 2 (Feb. 9-15): Lauren Haeger – Florida – Senior – Pitcher/1B – Peoria, Ariz.
Week 3 (Feb. 16-22): Jenna Lilley – Oregon – Freshman – Infield – North Canton, Ohio
Week 4 (Feb. 23 – March 1): Sierra Lawrence – Michigan – Junior – Outfield – Snellville, Ga.
Week 5 (March 2-8): Emily Carosone – Auburn – Junior – Outfield – Orlando, Fla.
Week 6 (March 9-15): Bianka Bell – LSU – Junior – Infield – Tampa, Fla.