Two pitchers and a hitter get the attention this week for outstanding play in D1 college softball…

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Emily Carosone earns USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week

After helping her team capture two wins over Top 25 ranked opponents last weekend, Auburn’s Emily Carosone (Orlando, Fla.) has earned her first USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week honors the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today.

Also tabbed as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week, the junior infielder was a big component in Auburn’s wins against two ranked teams from the Pac-12 Conference.

“It’s an honor to be the USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week,” said Carosone.  “A lot of it can be credited to the coaches and the team.  I think any of our players can be National Player of the Week, which shows the kind of team we have.  I always try to work on little goals in my mind at practice.  Whether it’s staying low or seeing the ball, I try to treat every game like it’s the best game of the season.”

Over the course of five games at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., Carosone had 10 hits, six going for extra bases, while batting in 10 runs.  In a win over Long Beach State, Carosone had three hits, giving her four three-hit games this year, while her two-run home run helped the Tigers complete a four-run comeback in the seventh inning to push the game into extra innings.  Carosone finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBI as Auburn took the 8-7 (eight inning) win.

Against then-No. 12 Arizona, Carosone had one of her best games of the season, going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run while scoring three runs as part of Auburn’s dominating 20-2 (five inning) win over the Wildcats.  She finished off the weekend with her third multi-hit performance of the weekend by going 2-for-3 against then-No. 23 Arizona State while knocking in a weekend high of four RBI.  This marked the fourth game this season Carosone compiled four RBI or more, giving her 11 multi-RBI games this year.

“Emily is having a great start to her junior season,” said Auburn Head Coach Clint Myers.  “She’s second in the SEC in RBI and is doing it all as the second batter in the order.  She’s really adapted well after we moved her from the leadoff spot to second in the order.  She’s really hitting and seeing the ball well and she’s doing great at putting the ball in play and giving us some clutch performances.  We’re extremely impressed with her performance and she’s playing like an All-American should.”

For the weekend, Carosone batted .526 (10-for-19) with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored.  For the season, the Orlando native is currently batting .493 and leads the SEC Conference in slugging percentage and is one of only two SEC players to have a slugging percentage at or over 1.000.

This is the first USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week honors for Auburn.  The Tigers are set to open up SEC play this weekend in Oxford, Miss. against Ole Miss in a three-game series.

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.

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Idaho State’s Burnett, UCLA’s Carda Selected Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player and Pitcher of the Week

Following a near perfect weekend at the plate and a dominant performance in the circle, Idaho State’s Kacie Burnett and UCLA’s Ally Carda were selected the 2015 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively for games played over March 2-8.

Kacie Burnett

Burnett (Napa, Calif.) played a key role in ISU’s series win at Nevada. Doing what a leadoff is supposed to do, the sophomore outfielder was 10-for-12 (.833) with seven runs scored and a perfect 7-for-7 swiping bases. She recorded a hit in her final seven at bats, culminating with a 4-for-4 (2 RBI, 3 R) effort in the series finale versus the Wolfpack. In that contest, Burnett scored three times, stole three bases and knocked in two runs.

“It is a great honor to receive this award and represent ISU’s softball program,” said Burnett. “My main focus for the weekend was to do my job as a lead off hitter and get on base for my teammates. We performed and executed as a team so I’d like to give credit to everyone of them for working so hard.”

Burnett opened the weekend with back-to-back 3-for-4 contests in which she scored twice and swiped two bags in each game, while adding a triple in the opener. In addition, the Big Sky Player of the Week slugged 1.083 and recorded a .833 on base percentage with a double, triple and two RBI.

“I would classify this as a normal weekend for Kacie, commented ISU head coach Julie Wright. “I think she probably got a couple of ground balls through that maybe haven’t gone through on past weeks but she has such an aggressive barrel that corners get a little nervous when that comes at them. Then she can drop a bunt right in front of them. She is really difficult to defend. What Kacie did this past weekend is kind of what Kacie does all the time.”

Ally Carda

Carda, a senior from Elk Grove, Calif., went 3-0 and did not allow a run in 17 innings of work, guiding her team to a 5-0 weekend at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament. The Pac-12 pitcher of the week punctuated her week by tossing her second no-hitter of the season against Illinois on Friday, which was the first of three complete-game shutouts.

“It is an honor to be named National Pitcher of the Week,” Carda said. “Our focus as a team was to be locked on every game and offensively the team did a great job of scoring runs so that on defense, I could just simply pitch.”

For the week, Carda struck out 32, surrendered just four hits and walked six as she held her opponents to a .077 batting average. Following her nine-strikeout (5IP) no-hitter, she tossed consecutive six-inning shutouts against UC Davis and Providence. She struck out a career-high 14 and scattered three hits against the Aggies, and closed out the weekend with a near no-hitter versus the Friars (1H, 9K) in which she twirled 5.2 innings of hitless ball.

“Ally had an outstanding weekend and has been working hard to be at her best when it matters the most,” head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She threw hard and with great command of all of her pitches. We are very proud that she is recognized with this honor.”

Player of the Week
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 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

• Auburn’s Emily Carosone grabbed SEC Player of the Week honors after batting .526 with three doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs at the Judi Garman Classic…
• Florida State’s Lacey Waldrop was tabbed ACC Pitcher of the Week; She tossed a pair of complete-game shutouts, including a no-hitter against Coastal Carolina, and allowed just two hits and struck out 14 while holding her opponents to a .054 batting average…
• NEC Pitcher of the Week, Central Connecticut State’s Laura Messena, was 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, a pair of two-hit shutouts, 22 strikeouts and held opponents to a .119 batting average…
• Pac 12 Player of the Week, Delaney Spaulding of UCLA, batted .562 with three doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, eight runs scored and a 1.312 slugging percentage…
• Michigan’s Sierra Romero batted .692 (9-13), slugged 1.538 (3HR) and recorded a .818 on base percentage (8 walks) on her way to Big 10 Player of the Week honors…
• SEC Pitcher of the Week, Sydney Littlejohn of Alabama, tossed her second perfect game of the season against Ole Miss…
• Loyola Marymount’s Alicia Brown earned WCC Player of the Week recognition by hitting .556 (10-18) with three doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, five runs and a 1.222 slugging percentage…
• Northwestern’s Kristen Wood notched her third career no-hitter with nine strikeouts in her only appearance of the week against Ball State and grabbed Big 10 Pitcher of the Week accolades…
• Arizona State’s Breanna Macha was selected Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after a 4-1 week with a save at the Judi Garman in which she beat two top-10 opponents and also became the first pitcher to shutout Michigan (2-0 in eight innings) this season…
• American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, Karla Claudio of USF, was 2-0 with three saves, a 0.40 ERA, 24 strikeouts and a .119 opponents batting average…
• Southern Conference Player of the Week, UNCG’s Nicole Thomas, batted .500 (11-22) with four multi-hit games, four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI…
• Texas State’s Kendall Wiley batted .833 (5-for-6) and recorded a .900 on base percentage with a double and five RBI to earn Sun Belt Player of the Week honors…
• Furman’s Lindsey Bert twirled a no-hitter (6K) at Winthrop and finished 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 21 innings of work…
• UTEP’s Ashley Eldridge was selected Conference USA Co-Player of the Week after batting .533 (8-15) with three long balls, 10 RBI and six runs scored…
• Marshall’s Morgan Zerkle, the other Conference USA Co-Player of the Week, batted .727 (8-11) with a double, triple, home run, five RBI, four runs and a 1.273 slugging percentage…
• Tennessee’s Meghan Gregg was named SEC Freshman of the Week after batting .688 (11-16) with four home runs and 13 RBI…
• Oklahoma’s Lauren Chamberlain batted .700 (7-10) and slugged 2.000 with four home runs and 11 RBI…
• UMKC’s Katie Kelley was named WAC Hitter of the Week, following a weekend in which she hit .500 with two doubles, four home runs and a 16 RBI in five games…
• NDSU’s Krista Menke tossed her second no-hitter of the season against Purdue (8IP, 12K) and also struck out nine against Northern Iowa to garner Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors…
• Stanford’s Kayla Bonstrom batted .526 (10-19) with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBI…
• Oregon’s Cheridan Hawkins was 2-0 with two saves, while allowing just one run on five hits with 26 strikeouts and zero walks at the Judi Garman Classic…
• Florida’s Aleshia Ocasio picked up wins over No. 3 Michigan and No. 2 Oregon to finish 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 18 strikeouts at the Judi Garmin Classic.