A perfect 3-0 record with 28 strikeouts and just three runs allowed in 18 innings in the circle earned Oklahoma Sooners pitcher Kelsey Stevens (Albuquerque, N.M.) the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week award this week the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) and USA Softball announced today.

Stevens compiled a 1.17 ERA for the week and held opposing batters to just a .113 batting average as the Sooners defeated Arkansas in a mid-week contest and swept Texas Tech over the weekend. The perfect week propped Oklahoma back into the Top 10 in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll released earlier today.

“This award is such an honor to me,” said Stevens.  “I feel it is a testament to all the hard work I have been putting in this season and I feel truly blessed.”

To start the week, Stevens got the victory in a rule-win at Arkansas as she took a no-hitter into the fourth inning of the five-inning game. She allowed just two runs on two hits in the win and recorded six strikeouts.

In the series opener against Texas Tech over the weekend, Stevens tied a career high with 11 strikeouts and took a no-hitter into the six inning. She faced just two batters over the minimum before giving up a one-out single in the sixth. Four base runners reached but not one advanced past first base. She allowed two hits and two walks as she threw her eighth shutout of the season.

Stevens followed that performance with another 11-strikeout outing the next day. Her only mistake was a solo homer in the fifth, but Stevens walked none and allowed just three total hits in the contest. The win was her 31st of the season.

In two games against the Red Raiders, who entered the series batting .308 as a team, Stevens struck out 22 and walked just two in 14 innings with an 0.50 ERA.

“This is a tremendous honor not just for Kelsey, but for our program as a whole,” said Oklahoma Head Coach Patty Gasso.

“I think this award is a testament to the growth I’ve seen from Kelsey over the course of the season. She has elevated her play and has really been a rock for us since the start of Big 12 play. It speaks to how great of a competitor she is and how much she has meant to the team this season.”

Kelsey, who holds a 1.97 season ERA, now has 31 wins which places her in a tie for first place in the country. This is the first USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week honor for Stevens and the first for a Sooners since Keilani Rickets earned the award in Week One of the 2013 season.

2014 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week

Week 1 (Feb. 6-9): Kylee Lahners – Washington – Junior – Infielder– Laguna Hills, Calif.
Week 2 (Feb. 10 -16): Aimee Creger – Tulsa – Senior – Pitcher– Yukon, Okla.
Week 3 (Feb. 17-23): Ally Carda – UCLA – Junior – Pitcher – Elk Grove, Calif.
Week 4 (Feb. 24 – March 2): Cheridan Hawkins – Oregon – Sophomore – Anderson, Calif.
Week 5 (March 3-9): Dallas Escobedo – Arizona State – Senior – Pitcher– Glendale, Ariz.
Week 6 (March 10-16): Alex Hugo – Georgia – Sophomore – Infielder – Olathe, Kan.
Week 7 (March 17-23): Jaclyn Traina – Alabama – Senior – Pitcher – Naples, Fla.
Week 8 (March 24 – 30): Ellen Renfroe – Tennessee – Senior – Pitcher – Jackson, Tenn.
Week 9 (March 31 – April 6): Katiyana Mauga – Arizona – Freshman – Outfielder – San Diego, Calif.
Week 10 (April 7 – 13): Michelle Mueller – Wisconsin – Senior – Third Base – LaCrosse, Wis.
Week 11 (April 14 – 20): Meredith Owen – Stetson – Senior – Pitcher – Jackson, Miss.
Week 12 (April 21 – 27): Tori Finucane – Missouri – Freshman – Pitcher – Germantown, Md.
Week 13 (April 28 – May 4): Kelsey Stevens – Oklahoma – Sophomore – Pitcher – Albuquerque, N.M.