March 28, 2007

NAIA Softball Player of the Week
Mobile (Ala.) outfielder Yaicey Sojo is this week's NAIA Softball Player of the Week after batting .700 with eight RBIs and eight runs scored while playing in only four of UM's six games last week. Sojo tied an NAIA record in the opener of a double-header with Belhaven (Miss.), belting three homers in Mobile's 15-3 win.

In the win over Belhaven, Sojo drove in five and went 4-for-5 at the plate, also scoring four runs in the game. In the second game of the twin-bill, the Venezuela native went 1-for-1, drawing three bases-on-balls and scoring a run, as Mobile fell 4-3.

Sojo and Mobile closed the week at home against Spring Hill (Ala.), as Sojo drew one walk and went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, also accounting for her one run scored in the game. The home run drew her total for the week to four as Mobile gained a 2-0 victory.

Sojo ended the four-game stretch with a 1-for-2 outing against Spring Hill in an 8-0 win in GCAC play. Sojo drove in one and scored twice in the game, carding her only double for the week and drawing another walk, her fifth of the week. Sojo finished the week 7-for-10 at the plate with five walks and a 2.000 slugging percentage.

Other nominees included: Lacey Davis, Spalding (Ky.); Maddie Williams, Texas Wesleyan; Beth Krogmeier, Benedictine (Kan.); Audra Hovick, Waldorf (Iowa); Brittney Chavez, Bethany (Kan.); Laura Kot, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio); Sarah Sempek, Dana (Neb.); Kara Renfro, Georgetown (Ky.); Chantal Millard, California Baptist; Kristen Curette, Savannah Art & Design (Ga.);

NAIA Softball Pitcher of the Week
Leigh Baker, a senior pitcher at Reinhardt (Ga.), has been named NAIA Softball Pitcher of the Week after tossing 33.0 innings on the way to a 3-1 record and one save. One of Baker's wins came against nationally ranked Shorter (Ga.), as she recorded eight strike outs and walked five.

Baker opened the week with back-to-back complete games, first against Shorter and then again in a seven-hit shut-out of Breneau (Ga.), her second-straight eight K performance. Baker also tossed 5.1 innings in game two of the double-header, earning the win with for strike outs and three hits while surrendering no runs in a 6-3 Reinhardt win.

Arguably Baker's top performance of the week came in a losing effort, as the senior from Macon, Ga., fanned 20 and walked only three, giving up three runs in 9.2 innings pitched, losing the game 3-2 in extra innings to Emmanuel (Ga.). Baker gave up four hits in the loss.

Baker would turn around to fire one inning with one hit to earn her only save of the week in game two of the double-header, a 4-3 win for Reinhardt over Emmanuel. Her last action of the week came against Southern Wesleyan, a no-decision in which she gave up two runs on one hit while striking out seven in three innings worked. She finished the week with 48 strike outs and a 0.64 ERA in 33.0 innings pitched.

Other nominees included: Lauren Baumgardner, Indiana-Southeast; Kimberly Williams, Evangel (Mo.); Kelly Baumert, Morningside (Iowa); Meghan Oden, William Penn (Iowa); Sophia Young, Rio Grande (Ohio); Brittany Caldwell, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.); Jamie Garman, Park (Mo.); Sophia Johnson, Oklahoma Christian; Amy Thomas, California Baptist; Meghan Temple, Savannah Art & Design (Ga.).